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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. mark — a trace
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. spring — of water
  10. cell — a phone
  11. capital — a city
  12. bound — certain
  13. cell — in biology
  14. bound — tied together
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. mark — a grade
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. capital — money
  19. season — of the year
  20. spring — a coil
  21. wake — a trail
  22. spring — the season
  23. bound — obliged
  24. season — in sport

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