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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. present — the time now
  3. spell — a short time
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. object — a thing
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. present — a gift
  11. object — to protest
  12. object — an aim
  13. drill — army training
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. spring — a coil
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. spell — letters
  18. capital — money
  19. drill — a practice
  20. present — there
  21. drill — the tool
  22. spring — the season
  23. spring — of water
  24. racket — a loud noise

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com