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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. spring — the season
  4. spring — a coil
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. ground — the earth
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. ground — crushed
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. tear — from crying
  12. content — happy
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. tear — from crying
  16. wound — an injury
  17. hand — in cards
  18. content — the amount
  19. chair — a leader
  20. tear — to rip
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. hand — help
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. ground — a position

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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