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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. lean — to bend
  3. bore — to drill
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. shower — rain
  6. spring — a coil
  7. spring — the season
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. shower — to wash
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. lean — thin
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. squash — the sport
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. bore — to tire
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. squash — to crush

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