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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. mug — a face
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. rash — a series
  6. mine — for digging
  7. spring — of water
  8. spring — the season
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. spell — letters
  11. rash — hasty
  12. spring — a coil
  13. mug — a cup
  14. capital — a city
  15. scale — in music
  16. spell — magic
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — money
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. scale — size or range
  22. mug — to rob
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. spell — a short time

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