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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. spring — a coil
  3. plane — a tool
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. suit — in cards
  6. suit — clothes
  7. season — in sport
  8. bound — obliged
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. bound — certain
  11. bound — tied together
  12. suit — to fit
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. season — of the year
  17. wound — an injury
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — not warm
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. spring — of water
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. dip — to sink

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