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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. mate — to breed
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. mate — a partner
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. cap — of ice
  9. spring — a coil
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. spring — of water
  12. mate — a friend
  13. spell — a short time
  14. cap — a lid
  15. spell — magic
  16. wind — moving air
  17. stand — to bear
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. spell — letters
  20. cap — a hat
  21. chair — a leader
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. branch — a division
  24. branch — of a tree

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