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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. season — of the year
  7. land — a country
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. snap — to click
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. chair — a leader
  12. land — ground
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. spring — of water
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. rock — a stone
  17. spring — the season
  18. spring — a coil
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. rock — music
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. season — in sport

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