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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. wound — an injury
  3. mark — a grade
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. file — a line of people
  6. row — to paddle
  7. row — a line
  8. spring — a coil
  9. scale — size or range
  10. spring — of water
  11. staff — employees
  12. file — a document
  13. staff — employees
  14. chip — to eat
  15. mark — a trace
  16. file — a tool
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. chip — for betting
  20. staff — a stick
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. scale — in music
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wound — an injury

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