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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 124 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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. last — final
  5. ball — a great time
  6. land — ground
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. last — to go on
  9. capital — a city
  10. snap — to click
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. last — finally
  14. season — of the year
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. land — to come down
  17. season — in sport
  18. land — a country
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. spring — the season
  21. capital — money
  22. ball — a dance
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. spring — a coil

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