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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 120 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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. bass — the fish
  3. pop — to visit
  4. season — in sport
  5. pop — soda
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. season — of the year
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. bass — low music
  11. spring — a coil
  12. swing — music
  13. net — after costs
  14. board — a committee
  15. net — in sport
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. swing — in golf
  18. vault — a safe
  19. pop — music
  20. board — to get on
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. net — for catching
  23. spring — the season
  24. swing — to play 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