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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. land — to come down
  3. spring — a coil
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. bass — low music
  6. cell — in biology
  7. capital — money
  8. land — ground
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. foot — a measure
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. land — a country
  13. pop — to visit
  14. pop — soda
  15. cell — a phone
  16. capital — a city
  17. bass — the fish
  18. pop — music
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. spring — the season
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. stand — to bear

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