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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. band — a music group
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. clip — a video
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. foot — a measure
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. squash — to crush
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — to rip
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bulb — for light
  15. spring — the season
  16. clip — to cut
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. squash — the sport
  19. bulb — for light
  20. spring — a coil
  21. band — a ring
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. clip — for paper

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