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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 hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. file — a document
  4. file — a line of people
  5. chest — of your body
  6. date — the fruit
  7. spring — the season
  8. chest — of your body
  9. file — a tool
  10. ground — the earth
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — the tool
  13. hand — in cards
  14. cue — a hint
  15. hand — help
  16. ground — a position
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. cue — a signal
  19. cue — for pool
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. spring — a coil
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. ground — crushed
  24. chest — a box

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