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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. spring — of water
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. season — of the year
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. file — a document
  8. spring — a coil
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. file — a tool
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. season — in sport
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. spring — the season
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. bulb — for light
  22. file — a line of people
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. game — a match

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