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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 120 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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. key — for a lock
  4. season — of the year
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. race — humankind
  7. spring — a coil
  8. key — the most important part
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. court — for sport
  11. rash — hasty
  12. spring — of water
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. season — in sport
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tear — from crying
  17. race — the arms race
  18. key — in music
  19. rash — a series
  20. race — a contest
  21. tear — from crying
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. court — of law
  24. court — of a king

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