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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. club — for dancing
  3. bound — obliged
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. spring — of water
  6. key — for a lock
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. season — in sport
  9. bound — certain
  10. club — for golf
  11. season — of the year
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bound — tied together
  15. spring — the season
  16. spring — a coil
  17. key — the most important part
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. club — a group
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. key — in music
  23. bear — the animal
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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