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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. file — a line of people
  4. mate — a partner
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. mate — a friend
  7. mate — to breed
  8. snap — to click
  9. hand — in cards
  10. file — a tool
  11. spring — a coil
  12. file — a document
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. tear — from crying
  15. drill — a practice
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. tear — to rip
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. drill — army training
  21. spring — of water
  22. drill — the tool
  23. tear — from crying
  24. hand — help

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