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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. club — for golf
  3. ground — a position
  4. spring — of water
  5. scale — in music
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. season — of the year
  8. press — to push
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. spring — the season
  11. club — a group
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. wake — a trail
  14. ground — the earth
  15. scale — size or range
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. press — newspapers
  19. ground — crushed
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. press — a publisher
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. spring — a coil
  24. club — for dancing

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