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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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. row — to paddle
  4. spell — a short time
  5. race — a contest
  6. spell — letters
  7. wake — a trail
  8. row — a line
  9. club — a group
  10. club — for dancing
  11. spell — magic
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. dip — to sink
  16. race — the arms race
  17. spring — of water
  18. club — for golf
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. race — humankind
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cell — in biology

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