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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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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: land · lie · present · swing · pit · capital · spring · saw

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. land — a country
  3. saw — the tool
  4. land — ground
  5. capital — money
  6. swing — in golf
  7. land — to come down
  8. swing — to play on
  9. pit — a hole
  10. spring — of water
  11. present — there
  12. saw — the tool
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. swing — music
  16. spring — a coil
  17. pit — in a race
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. spring — the season
  20. present — the time now
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. capital — a city
  24. present — a gift

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