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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 120 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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. spring — the season
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. pit — a hole
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. spell — magic
  7. pit — in a race
  8. spring — a coil
  9. mark — a trace
  10. swing — to play on
  11. swing — in golf
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. cell — in biology
  17. capital — a city
  18. mark — a grade
  19. spring — of water
  20. spell — a short time
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. swing — music
  23. capital — money
  24. cell — a phone

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