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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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. net — in sport
  3. spring — the season
  4. net — for catching
  5. cell — in biology
  6. game — a match
  7. suit — in cards
  8. spring — of water
  9. last — finally
  10. spring — a coil
  11. game — wild animals
  12. net — after costs
  13. last — final
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. last — to go on
  17. face — part of the head
  18. cell — a phone
  19. suit — clothes
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. face — to point toward
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. face — to confront
  24. leaves — of a tree

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