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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 120 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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. bound — obliged
  3. ball — a great time
  4. staff — a stick
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. staff — employees
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. rest — what's left
  9. bound — tied together
  10. bound — certain
  11. rest — what's left
  12. spring — of water
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. spring — a coil
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — an injury
  19. mine — for digging
  20. staff — employees
  21. ball — a dance
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. rest — a break

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