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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 120 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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. tear — from crying
  3. spring — the season
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. fine — all right
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wind — moving air
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. saw — the tool
  10. spring — of water
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. mine — for digging
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. net — in sport
  16. fine — high quality
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. net — for catching
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. saw — the tool
  21. spring — a coil
  22. tear — to rip
  23. net — after costs
  24. wind — to turn a key

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