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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. chest — of your body
  6. root — of a plant
  7. lean — thin
  8. bore — to drill
  9. bore — to tire
  10. spell — a short time
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. capital — money
  13. root — the cause
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. spell — letters
  16. spell — magic
  17. lean — to bend
  18. root — of a word
  19. capital — a city
  20. season — in sport
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. chest — a box
  24. chest — of your body

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