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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. rush — hurry
  3. capital — money
  4. ball — a great time
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. mine — for digging
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. spring — the season
  12. fall — to drop
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. fall — to drop
  18. ball — a dance
  19. spring — of water
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. fall — the season
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. safe — out of danger

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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