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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — a coil
  3. bound — certain
  4. charge — a price
  5. craft — a skill
  6. capital — money
  7. bound — obliged
  8. spring — the season
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. charge — electricity
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. bound — tied together
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. charge — in control
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. wound — an injury
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. capital — a city
  23. craft — boats
  24. wound — an injury

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