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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. spring — of water
  3. capital — money
  4. staff — a stick
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — to cut
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. staff — employees
  12. rule — a law
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. spring — a coil
  15. perch — the fish
  16. lean — to bend
  17. capital — a city
  18. rule — government
  19. lean — thin
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. clip — a video
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. staff — employees

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