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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. fine — all right
  3. spring — the season
  4. fine — high quality
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. drill — the tool
  7. last — to go on
  8. lean — to bend
  9. spring — a coil
  10. staff — employees
  11. drill — army training
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. net — for catching
  14. last — finally
  15. staff — a stick
  16. last — final
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. drill — a practice
  19. hand — help
  20. staff — employees
  21. hand — in cards
  22. net — after costs
  23. lean — thin
  24. net — in sport

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