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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. foot — a measure
  5. clip — to cut
  6. season — in sport
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. clip — a video
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. date — the fruit
  13. spring — of water
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. spring — a coil
  16. spring — the season
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. pound — a weight
  24. clip — for paper

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