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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — a coil
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. hand — in cards
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. spring — the season
  7. chair — a leader
  8. key — in music
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. key — the most important part
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. hand — help
  15. swing — in golf
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. swing — to play on
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. swing — music
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. wake — a trail
  24. key — for a lock

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