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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. spring — a coil
  4. spring — the season
  5. band — a ring
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. pitch — completely
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. deal — to handle
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. mug — a cup
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. cold — not warm
  14. mug — to rob
  15. mug — a face
  16. cold — an illness
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. season — in sport
  22. band — a music group
  23. season — of the year
  24. racket — for tennis

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