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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 116 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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. firm — steady
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. clip — to cut
  5. spring — of water
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. face — to confront
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. clip — for paper
  11. face — to point toward
  12. present — there
  13. spring — a coil
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. firm — a company
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. pitch — completely
  18. face — part of the head
  19. clip — a video
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. present — a gift
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. firm — decided
  24. present — the time now

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