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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 116 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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. season — of the year
  3. saw — the tool
  4. spring — a coil
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. spring — of water
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. spring — the season
  9. season — in sport
  10. degree — an amount
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. degree — from a university
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — the fish
  16. degree — temperature
  17. saw — the tool
  18. season — to add flavour

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