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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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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — the season
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. craft — a skill
  5. spring — a coil
  6. pop — soda
  7. prune — to trim
  8. pop — to visit
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. kid — child
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. pop — music
  13. mine — for digging
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. kid — to tease
  16. prune — to trim
  17. craft — boats
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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