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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. spring — the season
  4. band — a ring
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. band — a music group
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. bear — the animal
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. bat — the animal
  15. spring — a coil
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. spring — of water
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. mine — for digging
  24. bat — in an idiom

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