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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. cue — a signal
  3. season — in sport
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. face — to point toward
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. deal — to handle
  8. court — of a king
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. spring — of water
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. cue — for pool
  13. court — for sport
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. court — of law
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. cue — a hint
  18. spring — a coil
  19. spring — the season
  20. face — part of the head
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. face — to confront
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mine — for digging

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