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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. spring — the season
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. tear — from crying
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. cold — an illness
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. net — in sport
  11. net — for catching
  12. deal — to handle
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. cell — in biology
  15. tear — to rip
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. cell — a phone
  18. spring — of water
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. cold — not warm
  21. net — after costs
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. tear — from crying
  24. perch — the fish

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