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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 116 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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. fork — in a road
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. net — for catching
  5. file — a tool
  6. face — to point toward
  7. rest — what's left
  8. spring — a coil
  9. rest — what's left
  10. face — part of the head
  11. face — to confront
  12. net — in sport
  13. file — a document
  14. capital — money
  15. spring — the season
  16. file — a line of people
  17. rest — a break
  18. mark — a grade
  19. net — after costs
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. capital — a city
  22. mark — a trace
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. fork — a garden tool

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