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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pop · season · ball · cue · snap · land · spring · wind

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. pop — soda
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. spring — a coil
  5. cue — for pool
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. snap — to click
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. spring — the season
  10. land — a country
  11. cue — a hint
  12. ball — a dance
  13. ball — a great time
  14. land — ground
  15. pop — to visit
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. season — of the year
  18. pop — music
  19. wind — moving air
  20. spring — of water
  21. cue — a signal
  22. season — in sport
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. wind — moving air

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