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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. spring — a coil
  3. spring — the season
  4. charge — a price
  5. charge — electricity
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. band — a music group
  8. field — for sport
  9. field — farmland
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. charge — in control
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. spring — of water
  17. wake — a trail
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. season — of the year
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. band — a ring
  23. field — a subject
  24. season — in sport

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