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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. mate — a friend
  3. kid — to tease
  4. suit — to fit
  5. spring — the season
  6. suit — clothes
  7. clip — for paper
  8. clip — a video
  9. clip — to cut
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. field — for sport
  12. spring — of water
  13. mate — to breed
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. mate — a partner
  17. suit — in cards
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. field — farmland
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. field — a subject
  24. kid — child

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