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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. wound — an injury
  3. spring — a coil
  4. spring — of water
  5. court — for sport
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. ground — crushed
  8. ground — a position
  9. spring — the season
  10. deal — to handle
  11. ground — the earth
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. court — of a king
  14. cold — an illness
  15. wound — an injury
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. court — of law
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. cold — not warm
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. suit — clothes
  24. suit — to fit

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