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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — the season
  3. pit — a hole
  4. stock — goods
  5. kid — child
  6. cue — for pool
  7. cue — a hint
  8. cue — a signal
  9. last — finally
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. spring — a coil
  12. bear — the animal
  13. plane — a tool
  14. last — to go on
  15. kid — to tease
  16. pit — in a race
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. stock — shares
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. bear — the animal
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. last — final

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