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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. spring — a coil
  5. stem — to come from
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. season — of the year
  8. game — wild animals
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. spring — of water
  12. bore — to tire
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. game — a match
  18. pound — a weight
  19. bore — to drill
  20. spring — the season
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. bat — for baseball

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