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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. spell — letters
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. spring — of water
  5. stock — goods
  6. bear — the animal
  7. present — the time now
  8. spell — a short time
  9. capital — money
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. capital — a city
  12. season — in sport
  13. stock — shares
  14. spell — magic
  15. spring — a coil
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. present — a gift
  19. cold — not warm
  20. spring — the season
  21. present — there
  22. cold — an illness
  23. bear — the animal
  24. season — to add flavour

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