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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. season — in sport
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. spring — a coil
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. tube — a container
  9. season — of the year
  10. tear — from crying
  11. roll — a list
  12. roll — a cake
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. tube — the underground
  15. spring — of water
  16. row — a line
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. tear — from crying
  22. row — to paddle
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. tear — to rip

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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