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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 124 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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. scale — in music
  8. spring — of water
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. board — a committee
  11. chair — a leader
  12. spring — a coil
  13. scale — size or range
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. rash — hasty
  16. rash — a series
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. cell — a phone
  19. board — to get on
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. cell — in biology
  22. ball — a dance
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. ball — a great time

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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