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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 rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. spring — the season
  4. net — after costs
  5. season — of the year
  6. mark — a grade
  7. mark — a trace
  8. spring — of water
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. file — a document
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. season — in sport
  13. file — a line of people
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. spring — a coil
  16. net — in sport
  17. net — for catching
  18. deal — to handle

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