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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. rash — a series
  4. spring — of water
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. cell — a phone
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — a video
  10. current — happening now
  11. rash — hasty
  12. spring — a coil
  13. current — electric
  14. current — of water
  15. bear — the animal
  16. spring — the season
  17. clip — to cut
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. mine — for digging
  20. key — for a lock
  21. key — the most important part
  22. cell — in biology
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. key — in music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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