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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 116 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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. spring — the season
  3. spring — of water
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. bass — the fish
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. cell — in biology
  8. cell — a phone
  9. bass — low music
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. field — a subject
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. tube — a container
  16. stock — shares
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. field — farmland
  20. tube — the underground
  21. board — a committee
  22. field — for sport
  23. stock — goods
  24. board — to get on

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