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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. rock — a stone
  4. ball — a great time
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — an illness
  9. mate — to breed
  10. ball — a dance
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. mate — a friend
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. spring — a coil
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. mate — a partner
  17. stock — goods
  18. rock — music
  19. spring — of water
  20. stock — shares
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. mine — for digging

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