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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. chest — of your body
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. firm — steady
  8. firm — decided
  9. hand — help
  10. spring — a coil
  11. chest — of your body
  12. band — a music group
  13. spring — of water
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. firm — a company
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. band — a ring
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. snap — to click
  22. chest — a box
  23. hand — in cards
  24. hand — part of the body

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