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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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468
Word bank
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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. season — of the year
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. wind — moving air
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. spring — of water
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. pitch — completely
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. season — in sport
  13. spring — a coil
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. wind — moving air
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. spring — the season
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. pitcher — a jug

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