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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. pop — soda
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. lie — to recline
  5. pop — to visit
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. shower — to wash
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. spring — a coil
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. pop — music
  14. wound — an injury
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. craft — boats
  18. craft — a skill
  19. spring — of water
  20. shower — rain
  21. season — of the year
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. wound — an injury
  24. spring — the season

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