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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. spring — of water
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cold — not warm
  9. spring — the season
  10. cold — an illness
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. pit — in a race
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cap — a hat
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. root — of a plant
  17. prune — to trim
  18. pit — a hole
  19. root — the cause
  20. root — of a word
  21. prune — to trim
  22. cap — of ice
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. straw — dry grass

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