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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. bat — the animal
  5. swing — to play on
  6. spring — of water
  7. swing — music
  8. season — in sport
  9. root — of a word
  10. season — of the year
  11. spring — the season
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. drill — army training
  14. spring — a coil
  15. root — the cause
  16. mug — a face
  17. deal — to handle
  18. root — of a plant
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. drill — the tool
  21. swing — in golf
  22. drill — a practice
  23. mug — to rob
  24. deal — a big deal

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