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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. spring — the season
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. spring — of water
  5. cap — a lid
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. charge — a price
  10. charge — electricity
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. season — in sport
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. cap — of ice
  16. charge — in control
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. chair — a leader
  20. cap — a hat
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. spring — a coil
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. season — of the year

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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