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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 120 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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. track — a song
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. squash — the sport
  5. cell — a phone
  6. club — for dancing
  7. track — a path
  8. club — for golf
  9. club — a group
  10. track — to keep track
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. squash — to crush
  14. spring — of water
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. spring — a coil
  18. cell — in biology

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