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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. season — of the year
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. spring — of water
  6. spring — the season
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. scale — in music
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. season — in sport
  14. scale — size or range
  15. spring — a coil
  16. cue — for pool
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. capital — money
  20. snap — to click
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. capital — a city
  23. cue — a signal
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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