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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. tear — from crying
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. chest — of your body
  6. degree — an amount
  7. spring — a coil
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. degree — from a university
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. charge — a price
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. chest — of your body
  15. lean — to bend
  16. chest — a box
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. spring — of water
  19. tear — from crying
  20. degree — temperature
  21. charge — electricity
  22. charge — in control
  23. tear — to rip
  24. lean — thin

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