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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. spring — the season
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. spring — of water
  7. hand — in cards
  8. root — of a plant
  9. staff — employees
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. root — of a word
  12. staff — a stick
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — the tool
  18. staff — employees
  19. spring — a coil
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. hand — help
  22. root — the cause
  23. rush — hurry
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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