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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 116 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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. spring — of water
  3. bear — the animal
  4. track — a path
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — to cut
  8. track — to keep track
  9. hand — help
  10. clip — for paper
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. mark — a grade
  17. bear — the animal
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. spring — the season
  20. hand — in cards
  21. perch — the fish
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. track — a song
  24. mark — a trace

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