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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. stock — shares
  3. season — in sport
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. spring — of water
  8. stock — goods
  9. cap — of ice
  10. sharp — clever
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. mine — for digging
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. cap — a hat
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. spring — the season
  21. season — of the year
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. spring — a coil
  24. trunk — 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