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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. squash — the sport
  3. spring — a coil
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. face — to point toward
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. squash — to crush
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. face — to confront
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. spring — the season
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. bore — to tire
  14. fine — all right
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. fine — high quality
  18. face — part of the head
  19. spring — of water
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. mine — for digging
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. bore — to drill
  24. leaves — lets stay

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