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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. spring — a coil
  3. fall — the season
  4. fall — to drop
  5. season — in sport
  6. spell — a short time
  7. field — for sport
  8. tear — from crying
  9. spell — magic
  10. tear — to rip
  11. spring — of water
  12. fall — to drop
  13. cue — for pool
  14. cue — a hint
  15. spring — the season
  16. band — a ring
  17. field — farmland
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. cue — a signal
  20. spell — letters
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. band — a music group
  23. tear — from crying
  24. field — a subject

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