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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. spring — of water
  3. bear — the animal
  4. rush — hurry
  5. pop — music
  6. court — for sport
  7. clip — a video
  8. tear — from crying
  9. spring — a coil
  10. pop — to visit
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. track — a song
  13. clip — for paper
  14. court — of law
  15. track — a path
  16. tear — to rip
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. court — of a king
  19. clip — to cut
  20. bear — the animal
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. track — to keep track
  23. spring — the season
  24. tear — from crying

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