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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. row — a line
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. bear — the animal
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. spring — a coil
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. spring — the season
  13. sharp — clever
  14. roll — a list
  15. roll — a cake
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. bear — the animal
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. row — to paddle
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. rush — hurry
  24. straw — a straw man

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