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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. cap — a lid
  4. season — in sport
  5. mine — for digging
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. season — of the year
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. spring — the season
  11. spring — of water
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. net — after costs
  14. net — for catching
  15. cap — of ice
  16. stem — to come from
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. net — in sport
  20. spring — a coil
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. cap — a hat

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