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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 116 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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. race — a contest
  3. prune — to trim
  4. spring — a coil
  5. prune — to trim
  6. ball — a great time
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. chip — to eat
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. key — for a lock
  11. ball — a dance
  12. spring — the season
  13. tear — from crying
  14. chip — for betting
  15. race — the arms race
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. tear — from crying
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. key — the most important part
  22. tear — to rip
  23. key — in music
  24. race — humankind

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