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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. degree — from a university
  3. spring — of water
  4. pop — music
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. pop — soda
  7. spring — the season
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. degree — temperature
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. pop — to visit
  13. lean — thin
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — from crying
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. tube — the underground
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. lean — to bend
  21. tube — a container
  22. tear — to rip
  23. degree — an amount
  24. lash — to lash out

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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