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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spell — a short time
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. bore — to drill
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. spell — magic
  7. degree — temperature
  8. spring — a coil
  9. bank — for money
  10. spring — the season
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. degree — from a university
  14. file — a tool
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. degree — an amount
  17. bore — to tire
  18. bank — for money
  19. file — a document
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bank — of a river
  23. spell — letters
  24. file — a line of people

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