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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. spring — the season
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. spring — a coil
  7. season — in sport
  8. season — of the year
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. spring — of water
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. capital — a city
  14. spell — letters
  15. content — happy
  16. branch — a division
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. date — the fruit
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. spell — magic
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. content — the amount
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. spell — a short time

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