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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. spring — a coil
  4. degree — an amount
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. rash — hasty
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. degree — temperature
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. pound — a weight
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. lie — to recline
  15. rash — a series
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. spring — of water
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. degree — from a university
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. cell — in biology
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. cell — a phone

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