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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. mine — for digging
  3. deal — to handle
  4. rest — a break
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. tear — to rip
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. spring — a coil
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. spring — of water
  13. rash — a series
  14. plane — a tool
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. tear — from crying
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. rest — what's left
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. rash — hasty
  23. rest — what's left
  24. tear — from crying

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