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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. spring — the season
  3. object — an aim
  4. key — the most important part
  5. spring — of water
  6. capital — a city
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. key — in music
  9. swing — in golf
  10. capital — money
  11. swing — to play on
  12. object — a thing
  13. tear — from crying
  14. land — to come down
  15. tear — from crying
  16. swing — music
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. tear — to rip
  19. object — to protest
  20. key — for a lock
  21. land — ground
  22. land — a country
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. nail — for a hammer

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