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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — the season
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — an injury
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. charge — electricity
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. toast — bread
  12. pitch — completely
  13. charge — in control
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. fork — in a road
  16. march — the month
  17. charge — a price
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. spring — a coil
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. march — music
  23. march — the month
  24. fork — a garden tool

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