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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. season — in sport
  4. clip — to cut
  5. clip — a video
  6. rest — a break
  7. bank — of a river
  8. bank — for money
  9. ground — a position
  10. bear — the animal
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. bear — the animal
  13. rest — what's left
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. clip — for paper
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. vault — a safe
  19. rest — what's left
  20. bank — for money
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. ground — the earth
  24. ground — crushed

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