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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. key — in music
  3. suit — clothes
  4. kid — to tease
  5. spring — of water
  6. spring — the season
  7. can — a tin
  8. kid — child
  9. can — to be able to
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. suit — in cards
  12. stand — to bear
  13. clip — a video
  14. suit — to fit
  15. bat — the animal
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. clip — to cut
  19. key — for a lock
  20. key — the most important part
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. can — a tin
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. clip — for paper

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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