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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. bear — the animal
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. key — the most important part
  6. spring — a coil
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. track — a path
  9. squash — to crush
  10. track — to keep track
  11. saw — the tool
  12. spring — the season
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. saw — the tool
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. key — in music
  18. squash — the sport
  19. track — a song
  20. key — for a lock
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. rock — music
  23. bear — the animal
  24. rock — a stone

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