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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. spell — magic
  3. spring — the season
  4. spell — a short time
  5. fall — to drop
  6. tear — to rip
  7. club — for dancing
  8. spring — of water
  9. tear — from crying
  10. current — of water
  11. current — electric
  12. tear — from crying
  13. court — of a king
  14. net — for catching
  15. club — for golf
  16. club — a group
  17. court — of law
  18. net — in sport
  19. court — for sport
  20. fall — the season
  21. spell — letters
  22. fall — to drop
  23. current — happening now
  24. net — after costs

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