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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. roll — a list
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — for digging
  5. cap — of ice
  6. roll — a cake
  7. spring — the season
  8. mug — a face
  9. shower — to wash
  10. staff — a stick
  11. cap — a lid
  12. bore — to tire
  13. spring — of water
  14. mug — to rob
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. mug — a cup
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. staff — employees
  19. staff — employees
  20. shower — rain
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. cap — a hat
  23. bore — to drill
  24. bore — gave birth

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