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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. bound — certain
  5. mine — for digging
  6. spring — a coil
  7. net — in sport
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. bore — to drill
  10. fall — to drop
  11. spring — of water
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. season — of the year
  14. fall — the season
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. net — after costs
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. net — for catching
  19. fall — to drop
  20. bore — to tire
  21. bound — obliged
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. bound — tied together
  24. spring — the season

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