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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. pop — soda
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. season — in sport
  5. pop — to visit
  6. cap — of ice
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. clip — to cut
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. pop — music
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. spring — a coil
  14. spring — of water
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. clip — a video
  17. march — the month
  18. clip — for paper
  19. march — the month
  20. spring — the season
  21. cap — a hat
  22. march — music
  23. cap — a lid
  24. mouse — the animal

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