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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. season — of the year
  3. spring — of water
  4. cell — a phone
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. court — for sport
  7. wake — a trail
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. spring — a coil
  13. court — of law
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. mark — a grade
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. season — in sport
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. cell — in biology
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. court — of a king
  24. spring — the season

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