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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. cell — in biology
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. spring — a coil
  5. present — there
  6. present — the time now
  7. capital — money
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. cap — a hat
  10. fall — to drop
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cell — a phone
  13. rule — a law
  14. present — a gift
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. rule — government
  17. capital — a city
  18. fall — the season
  19. spring — the season
  20. cap — a lid
  21. snap — to click
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. cap — of ice
  24. fall — to drop

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