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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. staff — employees
  3. staff — a stick
  4. present — there
  5. squash — the sport
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. last — final
  9. present — the time now
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. spring — of water
  13. squash — to crush
  14. tear — to rip
  15. tear — from crying
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. last — to go on
  19. tear — from crying
  20. present — a gift
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. last — finally
  23. staff — employees
  24. spring — a coil

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