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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — a coil
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hand — help
  5. chest — of your body
  6. ball — a great time
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. season — in sport
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. season — of the year
  11. chest — of your body
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. chest — a box
  17. ball — a dance
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — the animal
  22. hand — in cards
  23. spring — the season
  24. hide — animal skin

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