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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. spring — of water
  4. bear — the animal
  5. spring — a coil
  6. spring — the season
  7. net — for catching
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. net — after costs
  11. net — in sport
  12. court — of a king
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. season — in sport
  15. bear — the animal
  16. last — finally
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. last — to go on
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. court — of law
  22. court — for sport
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. season — of the year

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