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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 120 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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. spring — of water
  3. key — the most important part
  4. tear — from crying
  5. pit — a hole
  6. tear — from crying
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. game — wild animals
  9. spring — the season
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. snap — to click
  12. key — for a lock
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. stock — shares
  15. stock — goods
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. key — in music
  18. pit — in a race
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. game — a match
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. saw — the tool
  23. spring — a coil
  24. tear — to rip

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