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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. pop — soda
  5. deal — to handle
  6. pop — music
  7. spring — of water
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. pitch — completely
  10. spring — a coil
  11. track — a song
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. track — to keep track
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. season — in sport
  22. pop — to visit
  23. track — a path
  24. spring — the season

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