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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. spring — a coil
  3. bat — the animal
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. land — ground
  11. land — a country
  12. spring — of water
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. present — there
  19. craft — boats
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. land — to come down
  22. present — the time now
  23. present — a gift
  24. craft — a skill

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