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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. season — in sport
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. can — a tin
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. can — a tin
  7. mark — a grade
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. bat — the animal
  10. spring — a coil
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. spring — of water
  15. bear — the animal
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. mark — a trace
  18. cell — in biology
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cell — a phone
  21. bear — the animal
  22. spring — the season
  23. can — to be able to
  24. wake — a trail

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