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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 116 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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. spring — of water
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. bore — to tire
  6. firm — a company
  7. fine — high quality
  8. firm — decided
  9. land — to come down
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. land — ground
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — the season
  18. firm — steady
  19. bore — to drill
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. land — a country
  23. snap — to click
  24. straw — a straw man

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