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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. spring — the season
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. tear — from crying
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. fine — all right
  8. fine — high quality
  9. snap — to click
  10. tear — to rip
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. spring — a coil
  13. shower — rain
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. tear — from crying
  17. shower — to wash
  18. wake — a trail
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. spring — of water
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. racket — a loud noise

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