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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 124 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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. suit — in cards
  3. spring — of water
  4. ball — a great time
  5. swing — music
  6. season — of the year
  7. ball — a dance
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. suit — to fit
  11. swing — in golf
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. roll — a list
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. swing — to play on
  16. roll — a cake
  17. spring — the season
  18. spring — a coil
  19. season — in sport
  20. scale — size or range
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. scale — in music
  24. suit — clothes

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