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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 108 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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. file — a tool
  4. bat — the animal
  5. rash — a series
  6. season — of the year
  7. object — an aim
  8. object — to protest
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. file — a document
  11. spring — a coil
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. season — in sport
  16. spring — of water
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. file — a line of people
  22. rash — hasty
  23. object — a thing
  24. wake — a trail

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