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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 · mate · game · cue · capital · race · wave · prune

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. game — wild animals
  3. capital — a city
  4. mate — to breed
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. race — humankind
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. mate — a partner
  9. capital — money
  10. cue — a signal
  11. prune — to trim
  12. race — the arms race
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. race — a contest
  15. spring — a coil
  16. spring — of water
  17. game — a match
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. cue — a hint
  20. prune — to trim
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. spring — the season
  23. cue — for pool
  24. game — a kind of play

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