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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 120 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. bank — for money
  4. season — in sport
  5. season — of the year
  6. bank — of a river
  7. pit — in a race
  8. spring — of water
  9. wind — moving air
  10. kid — child
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wind — moving air
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. spring — the season
  17. spring — a coil
  18. bank — for money
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. stem — to come from
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. pit — a hole
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. season — to add flavour

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