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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. snap — to click
  3. rock — a stone
  4. tear — from crying
  5. pound — a weight
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. charge — in control
  8. spring — a coil
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. spring — the season
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. tear — to rip
  17. tube — a container
  18. charge — a price
  19. band — a ring
  20. tear — from crying
  21. rock — music
  22. band — a music group
  23. tube — the underground
  24. charge — electricity

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