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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. mine — for digging
  3. spring — of water
  4. scale — in music
  5. bear — the animal
  6. wind — moving air
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. spring — a coil
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. snap — to click
  11. bear — the animal
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. wind — moving air
  14. spring — the season
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. ball — a dance
  19. scale — size or range
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. ball — a great time
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. bear — to put up with

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