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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. bore — to tire
  3. season — in sport
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bulb — for light
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. cell — a phone
  11. mine — for digging
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. cell — in biology
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. game — a match
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. game — wild animals
  18. bore — to drill

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