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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. spring — of water
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. season — in sport
  7. spring — a coil
  8. scale — in music
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. spring — the season
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. sharp — clever
  16. capital — money
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. capital — a city
  22. scale — size or range
  23. season — of the year
  24. fan — a supporter

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