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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. key — the most important part
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. pit — in a race
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. key — for a lock
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. scale — size or range
  15. band — a music group
  16. band — a ring
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. pit — a hole
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. scale — in music
  22. key — in music
  23. spring — of water
  24. spring — a coil

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