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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. spring — a coil
  3. tube — a container
  4. staff — a stick
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. tear — from crying
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. tear — to rip
  10. court — for sport
  11. court — of a king
  12. court — of law
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. tear — from crying
  15. spring — the season
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. tube — the underground
  18. staff — employees
  19. spring — of water
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. staff — employees

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