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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. spring — of water
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. hand — help
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. tear — to rip
  8. present — a gift
  9. tear — from crying
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. tear — from crying
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. spring — a coil
  15. spring — the season
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. present — the time now
  19. hand — in cards
  20. fork — in a road
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. pitch — completely

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