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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. chair — a leader
  3. bank — of a river
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. spring — a coil
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. bank — for money
  11. roll — a cake
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. bank — for money
  15. ground — crushed
  16. perch — the fish
  17. roll — a list
  18. spring — the season
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. ground — a position
  22. tear — from crying
  23. ground — the earth
  24. perch — for a bird

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