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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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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: spring · tear · kick · ruler · wound · season · stock · pitch

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. season — in sport
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. tear — from crying
  5. spring — of water
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. kick — in football
  11. spring — a coil
  12. pitch — completely
  13. season — of the year
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. stock — shares
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — an injury
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. stock — goods
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — to rip

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