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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. tear — to rip
  3. rock — a stone
  4. spring — the season
  5. capital — a city
  6. tear — from crying
  7. snap — to click
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. spring — a coil
  11. kid — to tease
  12. pound — a weight
  13. kid — child
  14. capital — money
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. tear — from crying
  20. present — a gift
  21. rock — music
  22. present — the time now
  23. present — there
  24. rock — to move gently

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