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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 120 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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. spring — a coil
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. tear — to rip
  7. tear — from crying
  8. pound — a weight
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. spring — of water
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. cold — an illness
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bear — the animal
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. kid — child
  22. tear — from crying
  23. cold — not warm
  24. bowl — a dish

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