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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. pop — music
  3. land — a country
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. dip — to sink
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. row — to paddle
  9. pop — to visit
  10. tear — from crying
  11. spring — the season
  12. land — ground
  13. tear — from crying
  14. spring — of water
  15. cell — in biology
  16. tear — to rip
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. spring — a coil
  19. cell — a phone
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. pop — soda
  22. land — to come down
  23. row — a line
  24. row — a quarrel

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