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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. perch — the fish
  4. root — of a word
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. season — of the year
  7. band — a ring
  8. season — in sport
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. root — of a plant
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. cold — not warm
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. spring — of water
  16. tube — the underground
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. band — a music group
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. cold — an illness
  21. spring — the season
  22. tube — a container
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. root — the cause

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