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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 124 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's very handy with a ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. spring — a coil
  3. track — a song
  4. season — of the year
  5. dip — to sink
  6. bat — the animal
  7. spring — the season
  8. court — of a king
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. court — for sport
  12. spring — of water
  13. track — a path
  14. rule — government
  15. season — in sport
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. saw — the tool
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. court — of law
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. track — to keep track
  24. rule — a law

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