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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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. spring — the season
  3. spring — of water
  4. suit — clothes
  5. rash — hasty
  6. cold — not warm
  7. can — a tin
  8. cold — an illness
  9. season — in sport
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. season — of the year
  13. can — a tin
  14. bass — the fish
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. rash — a series
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. spring — a coil
  20. cell — a phone
  21. suit — in cards
  22. cell — in biology
  23. can — to be able to
  24. bass — low music

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