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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. spring — a coil
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. hand — help
  5. spring — of water
  6. spring — the season
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. tear — to rip
  11. net — for catching
  12. bear — the animal
  13. tear — from crying
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. net — in sport
  16. stem — to come from
  17. spell — letters
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. hand — in cards
  23. spell — a short time
  24. spell — magic

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