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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 116 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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  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. lash — a whip stroke
  3. tear — from crying
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. spring — the season
  8. prune — to trim
  9. court — for sport
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. spring — a coil
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. prune — to trim
  14. bat — the animal
  15. court — of a king
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. tear — from crying
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. tear — to rip
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. nail — for a hammer
  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