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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. spring — the season
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. bank — of a river
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cell — in biology
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cell — a phone
  10. stock — goods
  11. spring — a coil
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. charge — electricity
  14. capital — a city
  15. bank — for money
  16. bank — for money
  17. stock — shares
  18. capital — money
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. charge — in control
  24. charge — a price

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