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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. squash — to crush
  4. craft — a skill
  5. craft — boats
  6. object — to protest
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. season — of the year
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. squash — the sport
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. field — for sport
  14. field — farmland
  15. spring — a coil
  16. bat — the animal
  17. object — an aim
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. season — in sport
  20. spring — of water
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. object — a thing
  23. field — a subject
  24. bat — in an idiom

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