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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. spring — of water
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. lean — to bend
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. shower — to wash
  10. shower — rain
  11. spell — a short time
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. date — the fruit
  15. spell — magic
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spell — letters
  18. lean — thin

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