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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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. suit — to fit
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. suit — in cards
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. mate — a partner
  8. mate — a friend
  9. capital — money
  10. court — of a king
  11. row — to paddle
  12. capital — a city
  13. mate — to breed
  14. spring — of water
  15. court — of law
  16. court — for sport
  17. pitch — completely
  18. row — a line
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. spring — a coil
  21. suit — clothes
  22. last — final
  23. last — finally
  24. last — to go on

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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