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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: spring · kick · wind · capital · key · ruler

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. spring — of water
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. capital — money
  5. capital — a city
  6. spring — a coil
  7. key — in music
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. key — for a lock
  13. wind — moving air
  14. key — the most important part
  15. spring — the season
  16. kick — in football
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. kick — with a leg

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