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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. lean — thin
  4. spring — of water
  5. clip — to cut
  6. stock — goods
  7. stock — shares
  8. present — a gift
  9. spring — a coil
  10. mate — a friend
  11. mate — a partner
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. drill — a practice
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. drill — army training
  17. present — the time now
  18. lean — to bend
  19. mate — to breed
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — a video
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. spring — the season
  24. drill — the tool

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