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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. present — a gift
  3. rock — a stone
  4. cold — not warm
  5. spring — of water
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. firm — a company
  8. present — the time now
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. rock — music
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. present — there
  14. spring — a coil
  15. capital — a city
  16. firm — decided
  17. cold — an illness
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. capital — money
  20. hand — in cards
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. firm — steady
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. hand — help

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