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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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Word bank
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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. capital — money
  3. spring — the season
  4. present — the time now
  5. wind — moving air
  6. spring — a coil
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. scale — in music
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. key — for a lock
  13. wind — moving air
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. scale — size or range
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. key — in music
  19. capital — a city
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. key — the most important part
  22. present — a gift
  23. present — there
  24. scale — for weighing

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