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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 120 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. last — final
  3. spring — a coil
  4. bat — the animal
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. last — finally
  13. dip — to sink
  14. squash — the sport
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. squash — to crush
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. perch — the fish
  23. last — to go on
  24. spring — the season

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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