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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 120 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 need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. rock — a stone
  3. stock — goods
  4. spring — of water
  5. face — part of the head
  6. capital — money
  7. drill — a practice
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. face — to point toward
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. spell — magic
  13. drill — army training
  14. spring — the season
  15. bat — the animal
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spell — a short time
  18. rock — music
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. stock — shares
  21. capital — a city
  22. face — to confront
  23. spell — letters
  24. bat — in an idiom

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