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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. cold — not warm
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. saw — the tool
  7. deal — to handle
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. key — in music
  12. saw — the tool
  13. key — for a lock
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. spring — the season
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. spring — a coil
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. chair — a leader
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. key — the most important part
  24. cold — an illness

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