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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 · pit · cabinet · wake · ground · season · rock · land

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — the earth
  4. land — to come down
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. rock — music
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. land — a country
  11. land — ground
  12. pit — a hole
  13. wake — a trail
  14. season — in sport
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. spring — a coil
  17. rock — a stone
  18. spring — of water
  19. season — of the year
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. pit — in a race
  22. spring — the season
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. ground — a position

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