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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: wake · mate · deal · pop · capital · spring · roll · rash

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. roll — a cake
  3. wake — a trail
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. rash — a series
  6. rash — hasty
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. capital — money
  9. mate — a friend
  10. spring — a coil
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. spring — the season
  13. mate — to breed
  14. pop — to visit
  15. deal — to handle
  16. pop — soda
  17. capital — a city
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. pop — music
  20. mate — a partner
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. spring — of water
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. roll — a list

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