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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. suit — clothes
  5. fall — to drop
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. march — the month
  8. season — of the year
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. march — music
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. suit — in cards
  14. spring — of water
  15. suit — to fit
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. fall — to drop
  18. snap — to click
  19. spring — the season
  20. spring — a coil
  21. season — in sport
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. march — the month
  24. fall — the season

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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