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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. spring — the season
  4. tear — from crying
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. fine — high quality
  8. shower — to wash
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. key — for a lock
  11. tear — to rip
  12. row — a line
  13. chip — for betting
  14. chip — to eat
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — a coil
  17. shower — rain
  18. key — the most important part
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. row — to paddle
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. key — in music
  24. tear — from crying

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