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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 120 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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. tear — from crying
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. pop — to visit
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. perch — the fish
  8. tear — from crying
  9. mine — for digging
  10. spring — of water
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. tube — a container
  13. spring — a coil
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. rush — hurry
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. pop — soda
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. pop — music
  23. tear — to rip
  24. tube — the underground

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