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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. season — of the year
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. rush — hurry
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. sharp — clever
  12. rash — hasty
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. spring — the season
  15. season — in sport
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. rash — a series
  18. stand — to bear
  19. band — a music group
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. band — a ring
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. spring — a coil
  24. rush — to hurry

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