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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. drill — a practice
  4. drill — army training
  5. net — in sport
  6. spring — of water
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. net — after costs
  10. drill — the tool
  11. spring — a coil
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. spring — the season
  14. band — a ring
  15. season — in sport
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. bulb — for light
  18. rush — hurry
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. band — a music group
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. net — for catching
  24. bulb — for light

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