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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.

Make a worksheet

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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. spring — of water
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. rash — hasty
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. bass — low music
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. saw — the tool
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. toast — bread
  15. rash — a series
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — an illness
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. saw — the tool
  20. bass — the fish
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. spring — a coil
  24. leaves — to go away

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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