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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 124 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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — the season
  3. field — for sport
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. date — the fruit
  10. sharp — clever
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. field — farmland
  14. stock — goods
  15. spring — a coil
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. capital — a city
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. field — a subject
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. stock — shares
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. capital — money

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