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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 cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. ground — crushed
  4. ground — a position
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. season — in sport
  9. spring — the season
  10. tear — to rip
  11. season — of the year
  12. spell — a short time
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. spell — magic
  18. spring — of water
  19. ground — the earth
  20. tear — from crying
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spell — letters
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. straw — dry grass

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