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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. spring — the season
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. kid — to tease
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. deal — to handle
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. rest — a break
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. spring — of water
  14. rest — what's left
  15. cell — a phone
  16. sharp — clever
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. rest — what's left
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. cell — in biology
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. kid — child

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