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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 124 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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. swing — to play on
  4. season — of the year
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. swing — music
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. wind — moving air
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. pit — a hole
  12. pit — in a race
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. swing — in golf
  16. season — in sport
  17. spring — the season
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. spring — of water
  22. spring — a coil
  23. wind — moving air
  24. season — to add flavour

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