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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 116 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 hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. season — of the year
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. bulb — for light
  6. club — for dancing
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. club — for golf
  9. spring — of water
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — not warm
  14. sharp — clever
  15. season — in sport
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — the season
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. bulb — for light
  20. cold — an illness
  21. plane — a tool
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. club — a group
  24. lie — an untruth

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