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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. spring — the season
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. season — in sport
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. file — a line of people
  9. snap — to click
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. file — a document
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. spring — a coil
  19. file — a tool
  20. root — the cause
  21. root — of a word
  22. root — of a plant
  23. season — of the year
  24. spring — of water

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