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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. swing — to play on
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. ball — a dance
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. swing — music
  12. squash — the sport
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. spring — the season
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. ball — a great time
  17. swing — in golf
  18. snap — to click
  19. toast — bread
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. squash — to crush
  24. spring — a coil

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