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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bear — the animal
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. spring — a coil
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. tear — from crying
  10. land — ground
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. bear — the animal
  13. file — a document
  14. tear — to rip
  15. chair — a leader
  16. land — a country
  17. file — a line of people
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. fork — in a road
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. file — a tool
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. spring — of water
  24. land — to come down

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