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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. squash — to crush
  3. spring — the season
  4. mine — for digging
  5. season — in sport
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. spring — of water
  8. root — of a word
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. band — a ring
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. squash — the sport
  14. spring — a coil
  15. root — of a plant
  16. season — of the year
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. root — the cause
  20. band — a music group
  21. last — to go on
  22. last — finally
  23. last — final
  24. band — a rubber band

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