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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: row · face · bear · toast · swing · patient · spring · capital

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. bear — the animal
  5. face — to confront
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. swing — music
  9. spring — a coil
  10. face — part of the head
  11. face — to point toward
  12. capital — money
  13. capital — a city
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. bear — the animal
  16. row — a line
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. spring — the season
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. swing — in golf
  21. toast — bread
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. swing — to play on
  24. row — to paddle

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