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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 124 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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. spring — a coil
  5. ball — a dance
  6. branch — a division
  7. capital — a city
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. content — happy
  13. content — the amount
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. spring — the season
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. net — in sport
  19. ball — a great time
  20. net — for catching
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. net — after costs
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. capital — money

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