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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. chest — a box
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. tube — a container
  6. spring — of water
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cell — in biology
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. bear — the animal
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. chest — of your body
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. tube — the underground
  17. chest — of your body
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. bear — the animal
  20. game — a match
  21. spring — a coil
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. mine — for digging
  24. game — wild animals

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