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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. saw — the tool
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. kick — in football
  5. spring — a coil
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. root — of a word
  8. spring — the season
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. root — of a plant
  12. bore — to tire
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. bore — to drill
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. content — the amount
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. content — happy
  22. root — the cause
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. fan — to cool the air

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