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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. season — of the year
  3. season — in sport
  4. spring — the season
  5. staff — employees
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of law
  8. pop — soda
  9. pop — music
  10. object — to protest
  11. drill — army training
  12. spring — of water
  13. object — an aim
  14. staff — employees
  15. cap — of ice
  16. cap — a hat
  17. staff — a stick
  18. pop — to visit
  19. cap — a lid
  20. drill — a practice
  21. spring — a coil
  22. object — a thing
  23. court — of a king
  24. drill — the tool

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