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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. pit — a hole
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. clip — to cut
  5. spring — of water
  6. clip — for paper
  7. rash — a series
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. clip — a video
  10. spring — a coil
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. season — of the year
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. season — in sport
  18. rash — hasty
  19. branch — a division
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. pit — in a race
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. branch — 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