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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. spring — of water
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. season — of the year
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. chair — a leader
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. stand — to bear
  15. spring — the season
  16. season — in sport
  17. clip — a video
  18. band — a ring
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. clip — for paper
  22. vault — a safe
  23. clip — to cut
  24. band — a music group

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