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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. present — the time now
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. track — a song
  6. suit — to fit
  7. ball — a dance
  8. cold — an illness
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. spring — a coil
  11. present — there
  12. ball — a great time
  13. suit — clothes
  14. track — a path
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. present — a gift
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. cold — not warm
  19. suit — in cards
  20. wound — an injury
  21. track — to keep track
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. wound — an injury
  24. spring — of water

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