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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. spring — a coil
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. race — humankind
  6. wound — an injury
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. wound — an injury
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. squash — to crush
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. race — a contest
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. bass — the fish
  18. race — the arms race
  19. bass — low music
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. spring — of water
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. squash — the sport

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