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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. charge — a price
  4. charge — electricity
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. stem — to come from
  7. season — of the year
  8. charge — in control
  9. spring — of water
  10. season — in sport
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. kid — to tease
  15. kid — child
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. sharp — clever
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. spring — the season
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. spring — a coil
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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