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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. season — in sport
  3. spring — of water
  4. sharp — clever
  5. spring — the season
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. season — of the year
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — for paper
  11. bear — the animal
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. ball — a dance
  15. bear — the animal
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. lean — thin
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. spring — a coil
  20. lean — to bend
  21. drill — a practice
  22. clip — to cut
  23. drill — the tool
  24. ball — a great time

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