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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. spring — the season
  3. mine — for digging
  4. last — finally
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. spell — letters
  8. shower — rain
  9. cell — a phone
  10. toast — bread
  11. last — final
  12. last — to go on
  13. spell — a short time
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. spring — of water
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. spell — magic
  22. shower — to wash
  23. cell — in biology
  24. date — the fruit

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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