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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. spring — the season
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. rock — a stone
  7. tear — from crying
  8. spring — a coil
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. tear — to rip
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. spring — of water
  13. pop — soda
  14. pop — music
  15. pop — to visit
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. rock — music
  18. bat — the animal
  19. tear — from crying
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. patient — a sick person

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