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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. tear — from crying
  3. land — to come down
  4. spring — a coil
  5. land — a country
  6. tear — from crying
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. root — of a plant
  9. root — of a word
  10. fine — all right
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. tear — to rip
  13. fine — high quality
  14. spring — of water
  15. root — the cause
  16. land — ground
  17. spring — the season
  18. ball — a great time

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