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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. squash — the sport
  3. spring — the season
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. pop — to visit
  6. season — in sport
  7. craft — boats
  8. pop — soda
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. spring — a coil
  11. mate — a partner
  12. mate — to breed
  13. spring — of water
  14. mate — a friend
  15. staff — a stick
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. squash — to crush
  18. season — of the year
  19. pop — music
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. staff — employees
  24. craft — a skill

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