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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. ground — crushed
  3. suit — to fit
  4. roll — a list
  5. bear — the animal
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. spring — a coil
  8. wound — an injury
  9. ground — a position
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. suit — clothes
  13. bear — the animal
  14. clip — to cut
  15. clip — for paper
  16. wound — an injury
  17. ground — the earth
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. clip — a video
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. spring — of water
  23. suit — in cards
  24. roll — a cake

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