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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. firm — a company
  5. spring — a coil
  6. season — of the year
  7. spring — the season
  8. spring — of water
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. mine — for digging
  11. bear — the animal
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. firm — steady
  14. suit — clothes
  15. suit — in cards
  16. firm — decided
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. pitch — completely
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. suit — to fit
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. season — in sport

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