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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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bear — the animal
  5. face — to point toward
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bass — the fish
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. face — to confront
  11. mine — for digging
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. bound — tied together
  15. spring — the season
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. face — part of the head
  21. bound — certain
  22. bass — low music
  23. bound — obliged
  24. spring — a coil

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