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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. craft — boats
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. spring — a coil
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. bore — to drill
  9. bat — the animal
  10. spring — the season
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. craft — a skill
  14. season — in sport
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. rush — hurry
  19. bore — to tire
  20. spring — of water
  21. scale — in music
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. scale — size or range

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