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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. staff — employees
  3. hand — help
  4. ground — crushed
  5. rock — a stone
  6. mine — for digging
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. staff — a stick
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. season — in sport
  14. ground — the earth
  15. ground — a position
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. hand — in cards
  18. wax — to grow
  19. rock — music
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. staff — employees
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. coach — a trainer

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