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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. season — in sport
  5. spring — of water
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. foot — a measure
  11. date — the fruit
  12. spring — a coil
  13. clip — for paper
  14. spring — the season
  15. clip — a video
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. clip — to cut
  18. season — of the year

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