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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. ground — a position
  4. land — to come down
  5. stand — to bear
  6. cell — in biology
  7. season — of the year
  8. land — ground
  9. cell — a phone
  10. current — electric
  11. ground — crushed
  12. land — a country
  13. current — of water
  14. ground — the earth
  15. spring — a coil
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. chest — of your body
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. chest — a box
  20. chest — of your body
  21. spring — of water
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. current — happening now
  24. season — in sport

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