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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 116 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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. press — a publisher
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. firm — a company
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. firm — steady
  10. deal — to handle
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. firm — decided
  13. press — to push
  14. mine — for digging
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. press — newspapers
  17. capital — money
  18. spring — a coil
  19. capital — a city
  20. spring — the season
  21. club — a group
  22. club — for golf
  23. club — for dancing
  24. mine — belonging to me

Multiple-meaning words list

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

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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