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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. capital — a city
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. perch — the fish
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. fork — in a road
  11. spring — the season
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. rush — hurry
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. band — a music group
  17. mark — a grade
  18. capital — money
  19. mark — a trace
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. spring — a coil
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. band — a ring
  24. calf — of the leg

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