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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. track — a song
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. track — to keep track
  7. drill — the tool
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. spring — a coil
  11. clip — for paper
  12. track — a path
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. drill — army training
  15. clip — a video
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. drill — a practice
  18. clip — to cut
  19. spring — of water
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. stand — to bear
  22. dip — to sink
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. racket — for tennis

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