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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. season — in sport
  3. file — a document
  4. game — wild animals
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. rule — a law
  8. file — a tool
  9. mug — a face
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. mug — to rob
  12. spring — of water
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. rule — government
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. file — a line of people
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. mug — a cup
  21. spring — a coil
  22. game — a match
  23. spring — the season
  24. rule — to rule out

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