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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. ball — a dance
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. club — a group
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. prune — to trim
  7. cell — in biology
  8. club — for dancing
  9. cell — a phone
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. ball — a great time
  12. sharp — clever
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. lean — thin
  16. capital — a city
  17. capital — money
  18. spring — a coil
  19. lean — to bend
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. club — for golf
  22. spring — the season
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. prune — to trim

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