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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. spring — a coil
  4. shower — rain
  5. saw — the tool
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. sharp — clever
  10. mine — for digging
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. cap — of ice
  13. saw — the tool
  14. ball — a dance
  15. spring — the season
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cap — a hat
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. bulb — for light
  20. shower — to wash
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. ball — a great time
  23. bulb — for light
  24. spring — of water

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