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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — to rip
  8. spring — of water
  9. tear — from crying
  10. season — of the year
  11. key — for a lock
  12. cap — a hat
  13. cap — a lid
  14. bat — the animal
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. key — the most important part
  17. bear — the animal
  18. key — in music
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. spring — the season
  22. season — in sport
  23. spring — a coil
  24. cap — of ice

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