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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. saw — the tool
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. prune — to trim
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. wind — moving air
  9. court — of a king
  10. row — to paddle
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. saw — the tool
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. spring — the season
  18. row — a line
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. spring — a coil
  21. foot — a measure
  22. prune — to trim
  23. court — for sport
  24. court — of law

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