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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. spring — the season
  3. tear — from crying
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. season — of the year
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. bat — the animal
  9. squash — the sport
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. season — in sport
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. spring — of water
  14. rule — a law
  15. squash — to crush
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. tear — to rip
  19. rule — government
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. spring — a coil
  24. tear — from crying

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