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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. drill — a practice
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. root — the cause
  5. capital — a city
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. field — a subject
  8. mug — a face
  9. spring — the season
  10. mug — to rob
  11. mine — for digging
  12. field — farmland
  13. spring — of water
  14. field — for sport
  15. drill — the tool
  16. drill — army training
  17. root — of a word
  18. root — of a plant
  19. bear — the animal
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. bear — the animal
  22. spring — a coil
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. mug — a cup

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