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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. spell — magic
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. field — for sport
  5. field — farmland
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. spring — a coil
  9. spring — of water
  10. rest — a break
  11. chair — a leader
  12. spell — letters
  13. rest — what's left
  14. season — in sport
  15. field — a subject
  16. season — of the year
  17. pit — a hole
  18. spell — a short time
  19. band — a ring
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. pit — in a race
  22. band — a music group
  23. rest — what's left
  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