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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. hand — in cards
  3. spring — a coil
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. hand — help
  7. land — ground
  8. band — a music group
  9. chest — of your body
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. toast — bread
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. band — a ring
  16. land — a country
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. chest — a box
  19. chest — of your body
  20. sharp — clever
  21. spring — of water
  22. land — to come down
  23. deal — to handle
  24. toast — the most admired

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