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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — a coil
  3. craft — boats
  4. row — a line
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. craft — a skill
  7. row — to paddle
  8. bass — the fish
  9. spring — the season
  10. spell — magic
  11. bass — low music
  12. spell — a short time
  13. tear — from crying
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. bound — certain
  18. spell — letters
  19. bound — obliged
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bound — tied together
  22. tear — to rip
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. pitcher — a jug

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