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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 120 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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. swing — music
  3. can — to be able to
  4. swing — in golf
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. firm — decided
  7. swing — to play on
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. cell — a phone
  10. scale — in music
  11. cold — an illness
  12. can — a tin
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. firm — steady
  15. firm — a company
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bore — to drill
  18. can — a tin
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. spring — a coil
  21. spring — of water
  22. scale — size or range
  23. bore — to tire
  24. cell — in biology

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