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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. squash — the sport
  3. key — in music
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. pound — a weight
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. key — for a lock
  9. roll — a list
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. mine — for digging
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. spring — of water
  15. key — the most important part
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. spring — a coil
  18. squash — to crush
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. roll — a cake
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. temple — a place of worship

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