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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · spell · chest · prune · mark · game · bound · capital

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. mark — a trace
  3. bound — obliged
  4. bound — tied together
  5. spell — letters
  6. spring — a coil
  7. capital — a city
  8. spell — a short time
  9. spell — magic
  10. game — wild animals
  11. chest — of your body
  12. game — a match
  13. chest — a box
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. spring — of water
  16. prune — to trim
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. bound — certain
  19. prune — to trim
  20. capital — money
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. spring — the season
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. mark — a grade

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