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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. suit — in cards
  3. bear — the animal
  4. craft — boats
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. band — a ring
  7. snap — to click
  8. suit — clothes
  9. spring — the season
  10. spring — a coil
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. suit — to fit
  14. cold — an illness
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. craft — a skill
  17. band — a music group
  18. bear — the animal
  19. perch — the fish
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cold — not warm
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. band — a rubber band

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