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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. field — farmland
  3. spring — of water
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. spring — a coil
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. capital — a city
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. ball — a dance
  12. field — for sport
  13. capital — money
  14. saw — the tool
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. last — finally
  18. spring — the season
  19. last — to go on
  20. ball — a great time
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. field — a subject
  23. saw — the tool
  24. last — final

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