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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. spring — a coil
  3. tear — from crying
  4. row — a line
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bear — the animal
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. last — finally
  12. mate — a friend
  13. bear — the animal
  14. spring — the season
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. row — to paddle
  18. last — to go on
  19. tear — to rip
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. mate — to breed
  22. spring — of water
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. last — final

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