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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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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: mate · mine · last · spring · capital · key · press · pop

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. pop — to visit
  3. mate — to breed
  4. capital — money
  5. pop — soda
  6. pop — music
  7. press — a publisher
  8. key — the most important part
  9. key — for a lock
  10. spring — a coil
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. spring — the season
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. last — final
  15. mine — for digging
  16. key — in music
  17. press — newspapers
  18. mate — a friend
  19. press — to push
  20. mate — a partner
  21. capital — a city
  22. last — to go on
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. spring — of water

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