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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. suit — in cards
  4. suit — clothes
  5. season — in sport
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. spring — the season
  9. season — of the year
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. hand — in cards
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. suit — to fit
  14. squash — the sport
  15. squash — to crush
  16. spring — a coil
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. wind — moving air
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. hand — help
  24. wind — moving air

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