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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 120 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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. court — of law
  3. land — a country
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. spring — a coil
  6. can — to be able to
  7. spell — a short time
  8. clip — to cut
  9. spring — of water
  10. court — for sport
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. spell — letters
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. clip — for paper
  15. land — to come down
  16. can — a tin
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. can — a tin
  19. land — ground
  20. spell — magic
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. court — of a king
  23. pass — a permit
  24. clip — a video

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