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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. cap — a lid
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. row — a line
  5. saw — the tool
  6. spring — a coil
  7. rash — hasty
  8. stock — goods
  9. cap — a hat
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. season — in sport
  13. bore — to tire
  14. spring — the season
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. row — to paddle
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. cap — of ice
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. rash — a series
  21. season — of the year
  22. stock — shares
  23. saw — the tool
  24. bore — to drill

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