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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. mine — for digging
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. spring — of water
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. hand — in cards
  7. spring — the season
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. rock — a stone
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. pop — to visit
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. hand — help
  14. pop — music
  15. bat — the animal
  16. deal — to handle
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. rock — music
  24. pop — soda

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