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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. season — of the year
  3. object — an aim
  4. spring — a coil
  5. last — final
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. kid — child
  8. last — to go on
  9. spring — of water
  10. object — a thing
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. spring — the season
  14. season — in sport
  15. present — a gift
  16. kid — to tease
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. object — to protest
  20. last — finally
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. present — there
  23. present — the time now
  24. snap — to click

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