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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. spring — of water
  4. wound — an injury
  5. spring — a coil
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. season — of the year
  8. spring — the season
  9. cap — a hat
  10. wound — an injury
  11. chair — a leader
  12. face — to point toward
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. face — to confront
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. face — part of the head
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. season — in sport
  21. cap — a lid
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. cap — of ice

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