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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. spring — of water
  4. wound — an injury
  5. roll — a cake
  6. perch — the fish
  7. roll — a list
  8. kid — to tease
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. season — in sport
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. spring — the season
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. rest — a break
  18. wound — an injury
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rest — what's left
  21. spring — a coil
  22. kid — child
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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