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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. season — in sport
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. spring — the season
  7. rock — a stone
  8. spring — of water
  9. spring — a coil
  10. cap — a lid
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. row — a line
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. perch — the fish
  18. cap — a hat
  19. court — for sport
  20. season — of the year
  21. court — of law
  22. court — of a king
  23. row — to paddle
  24. rock — music

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