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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. can — a tin
  3. land — ground
  4. cap — of ice
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. spring — a coil
  7. wound — an injury
  8. spring — the season
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. land — to come down
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. cap — a lid
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. land — a country
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. cold — not warm
  18. can — to be able to
  19. stand — to bear
  20. cap — a hat
  21. branch — a division
  22. wound — an injury
  23. cold — an illness
  24. can — a tin

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