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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 120 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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. season — in sport
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. scale — size or range
  6. spring — the season
  7. perch — the fish
  8. saw — the tool
  9. scale — in music
  10. present — there
  11. season — of the year
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. snap — to click
  16. pass — a permit
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. present — the time now
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. present — a gift
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. spring — of water
  24. saw — the tool

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