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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  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. spring — the season
  2. staff — employees
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. staff — a stick
  5. spring — of water
  6. season — of the year
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. perch — the fish
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. race — a contest
  13. spring — a coil
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. race — humankind
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. shower — to wash
  20. race — the arms race
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. shower — rain
  23. staff — employees
  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