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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. bear — the animal
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. spring — a coil
  5. ground — the earth
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. ground — crushed
  8. game — wild animals
  9. court — of law
  10. cell — in biology
  11. bear — the animal
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. game — a match
  15. court — of a king
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. cell — a phone
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. spring — the season
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. court — for sport
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. ground — a position
  24. leaves — lets stay

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