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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. track — a song
  3. staff — employees
  4. tear — from crying
  5. staff — a stick
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — what's left
  9. spring — the season
  10. staff — employees
  11. tear — to rip
  12. wind — moving air
  13. rest — a break
  14. tear — from crying
  15. dip — to sink
  16. file — a document
  17. file — a line of people
  18. track — to keep track
  19. track — a path
  20. file — a tool
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. spring — a coil
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. wind — moving air

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