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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. chest — of your body
  5. mark — a grade
  6. lie — to recline
  7. plane — a tool
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. chest — a box
  13. mine — for digging
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. bore — to drill
  16. spring — the season
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. chest — of your body
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. spring — a coil
  22. bore — to tire
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. mark — a trace

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