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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. spring — of water
  3. ball — a dance
  4. cold — an illness
  5. can — a tin
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. cold — not warm
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. spring — a coil
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. prune — to trim
  15. ball — a great time
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. season — in sport
  18. prune — to trim
  19. spring — the season
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. season — of the year
  22. can — a tin
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. can — to be able to

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