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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. race — a contest
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. spring — a coil
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. lean — to bend
  8. race — the arms race
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bat — the animal
  11. race — humankind
  12. mate — to breed
  13. staff — employees
  14. row — a line
  15. spring — of water
  16. mate — a partner
  17. mate — a friend
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. staff — a stick
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. row — to paddle
  22. staff — employees
  23. lean — thin
  24. pitcher — a jug

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