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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. spring — a coil
  3. saw — the tool
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. spring — the season
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. capital — money
  10. saw — the tool
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. season — of the year
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. capital — a city
  18. bark — to shout
  19. season — in sport
  20. spring — of water
  21. mark — a trace
  22. mark — a grade
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. band — a ring

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