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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. land — to come down
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. spring — the season
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. bear — the animal
  8. land — a country
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. fine — all right
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. wake — a trail
  15. spring — a coil
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — moving air
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. bear — the animal
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. fine — high quality
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. date — the fruit
  24. land — ground

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