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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. present — a gift
  3. cold — not warm
  4. spring — the season
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. present — the time now
  7. bank — for money
  8. net — in sport
  9. net — after costs
  10. bank — of a river
  11. pit — in a race
  12. spring — of water
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. capital — a city
  16. bank — for money
  17. net — for catching
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. present — there
  21. pit — a hole
  22. capital — money
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. pitch — completely

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