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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. spell — letters
  3. spring — a coil
  4. object — to protest
  5. object — an aim
  6. field — for sport
  7. spell — magic
  8. pop — to visit
  9. spell — a short time
  10. cap — a lid
  11. pop — soda
  12. capital — a city
  13. pop — music
  14. deal — to handle
  15. field — farmland
  16. object — a thing
  17. cap — of ice
  18. field — a subject
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. spring — of water
  21. spring — the season
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. cap — a hat
  24. deal — an agreement

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