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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. net — after costs
  6. mark — a trace
  7. deal — to handle
  8. spring — the season
  9. file — a document
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. wind — moving air
  12. file — a line of people
  13. net — in sport
  14. mark — a grade
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. wind — moving air
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. net — for catching
  20. spring — a coil
  21. spring — of water
  22. season — of the year
  23. season — in sport
  24. season — to add flavour

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