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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. rest — a break
  3. spring — a coil
  4. scale — size or range
  5. clip — to cut
  6. clip — for paper
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. spring — the season
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. rest — what's left
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. rest — what's left
  15. scale — in music
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. snap — to click
  19. season — of the year
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. clip — a video
  24. season — in sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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