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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. spring — of water
  3. tube — the underground
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. tube — a container
  6. capital — a city
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. spring — the season
  9. squash — to crush
  10. capital — money
  11. season — of the year
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cell — a phone
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. vault — a safe
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. spring — a coil
  24. season — in sport

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