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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. tear — from crying
  3. can — a tin
  4. key — for a lock
  5. kid — child
  6. stand — to bear
  7. date — the fruit
  8. can — a tin
  9. kid — to tease
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. tear — to rip
  12. tear — from crying
  13. can — to be able to
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — of water
  18. chest — of your body
  19. key — the most important part
  20. chest — a box
  21. key — in music
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. chest — of your body

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