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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. staff — a stick
  3. staff — employees
  4. spring — a coil
  5. court — of a king
  6. face — to point toward
  7. swing — to play on
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. face — to confront
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. row — to paddle
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. staff — employees
  15. swing — in golf
  16. swing — music
  17. court — of law
  18. row — a line
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. face — part of the head
  21. spring — the season
  22. court — for sport
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. row — a quarrel

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