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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. roll — a cake
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. cap — a hat
  7. rock — music
  8. scale — size or range
  9. cap — a lid
  10. rash — a series
  11. mug — to rob
  12. spring — of water
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. roll — a list
  16. rash — hasty
  17. spring — the season
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. mug — a cup
  20. rock — a stone
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. scale — in music
  23. cap — of ice
  24. mug — a face

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