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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. race — a contest
  3. race — humankind
  4. net — for catching
  5. net — after costs
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. saw — the tool
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. net — in sport
  11. spring — of water
  12. club — for dancing
  13. race — the arms race
  14. tear — from crying
  15. saw — the tool
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. spring — a coil
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. club — for golf
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. tear — from crying
  23. club — a group
  24. tear — to rip

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