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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. spring — the season
  5. march — music
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — to trim
  8. can — to be able to
  9. ground — the earth
  10. march — the month
  11. face — part of the head
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. season — in sport
  14. spring — a coil
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. face — to confront
  17. can — a tin
  18. ground — a position
  19. face — to point toward
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. ground — crushed
  22. march — the month
  23. season — of the year
  24. can — a tin

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