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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. spring — a coil
  4. capital — a city
  5. pop — to visit
  6. face — to confront
  7. pop — music
  8. wake — a trail
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. face — part of the head
  11. spring — of water
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. pop — soda
  14. face — to point toward
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bear — the animal
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. capital — money
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. perch — the fish
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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