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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. ground — crushed
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. season — of the year
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. march — music
  9. march — the month
  10. march — the month
  11. ground — a position
  12. spring — a coil
  13. ground — the earth
  14. spring — of water
  15. pop — music
  16. cap — of ice
  17. pop — to visit
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. season — in sport
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. pop — soda
  23. cap — a lid
  24. cap — a hat

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