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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. mate — a partner
  3. mate — a friend
  4. spring — a coil
  5. spell — magic
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. key — in music
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. fall — the season
  11. fall — to drop
  12. spell — letters
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. key — the most important part
  15. spell — a short time
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. fall — to drop
  19. mate — to breed
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. key — for a lock
  22. spring — the season
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. patient — a sick person

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