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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — the season
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. pass — a permit
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. last — finally
  7. last — to go on
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. court — of law
  10. court — for sport
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. spring — a coil
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. hand — in cards
  16. last — final
  17. court — of a king
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. hand — help
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. fork — in a road

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