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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. season — in sport
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. spring — a coil
  7. spring — the season
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. hand — help
  10. staff — a stick
  11. game — a match
  12. season — of the year
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. spring — of water
  16. bear — the animal
  17. staff — employees
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. staff — employees
  20. bear — the animal
  21. rush — hurry
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. hand — in cards
  24. season — to add flavour

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