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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. season — of the year
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. spring — the season
  5. march — the month
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. march — music
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. march — the month
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. row — a line
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. game — wild animals
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. season — in sport
  20. spring — of water
  21. game — a match
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. row — to paddle

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