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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. charge — a price
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. season — of the year
  6. season — in sport
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. charge — electricity
  9. hand — in cards
  10. sharp — clever
  11. spring — the season
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. snap — to click
  14. cap — a lid
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. fork — in a road
  17. cap — a hat
  18. spring — of water
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. hand — help
  22. spring — a coil
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. charge — in control

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