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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. ground — the earth
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — a city
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. ground — a position
  8. spring — a coil
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. spell — a short time
  11. spring — the season
  12. spell — magic
  13. ground — crushed
  14. cell — in biology
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. spring — of water
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. present — a gift
  19. cell — a phone
  20. spell — letters
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. present — there
  23. present — the time now
  24. hide — to keep secret

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