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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. craft — a skill
  3. spring — a coil
  4. craft — boats
  5. mug — to rob
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. staff — employees
  8. tear — from crying
  9. spring — of water
  10. spring — the season
  11. mug — a cup
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — to rip
  14. present — a gift
  15. staff — a stick
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. present — there
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. staff — employees
  20. present — the time now
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. mug — a face
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. mine — an explosive

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