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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. spring — a coil
  3. wound — an injury
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. land — a country
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. spring — the season
  10. land — to come down
  11. bulb — for light
  12. tear — from crying
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. tear — to rip
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. bulb — for light
  19. land — ground
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. wound — an injury
  24. spring — of water

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