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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. spring — of water
  3. object — to protest
  4. clip — to cut
  5. spring — the season
  6. suit — clothes
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. last — finally
  9. object — a thing
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. object — an aim
  12. last — final
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. last — to go on
  15. pitch — completely
  16. suit — to fit
  17. hand — in cards
  18. rock — music
  19. rock — a stone
  20. clip — for paper
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. clip — a video
  23. suit — in cards
  24. hand — help

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