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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 116 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. spell — magic
  3. spring — the season
  4. spell — a short time
  5. capital — a city
  6. season — of the year
  7. hand — in cards
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. bulb — for light
  13. spring — of water
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. fork — in a road
  16. capital — money
  17. spring — a coil
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. spell — letters
  20. season — in sport
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. hand — part of the body

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