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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. firm — steady
  4. spring — of water
  5. drill — a practice
  6. file — a tool
  7. firm — decided
  8. file — a line of people
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. drill — army training
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. spring — the season
  14. lean — to bend
  15. lean — thin
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. drill — the tool
  18. firm — a company
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. file — a document
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. mine — for digging
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — belonging to me

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