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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — a coil
  3. rash — hasty
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. spring — the season
  9. deal — to handle
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. court — for sport
  12. bore — to drill
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. cell — in biology
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. bore — to tire
  19. cell — a phone
  20. rash — a series
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. court — of law
  23. cold — not warm
  24. court — of a king

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