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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. spring — of water
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. wound — an injury
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. chest — of your body
  9. clip — to cut
  10. chest — a box
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. clip — for paper
  13. ground — the earth
  14. clip — a video
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. spring — a coil
  18. perch — the fish
  19. ground — a position
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. ground — crushed
  22. chest — of your body
  23. rush — hurry
  24. wound — an injury

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