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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 116 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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. spring — of water
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. row — a line
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. hand — in cards
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. last — finally
  11. bear — the animal
  12. fork — in a road
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. bear — the animal
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. row — to paddle
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. last — to go on
  22. last — final
  23. hand — help
  24. spring — the season

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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