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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 116 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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. spring — the season
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. fine — all right
  5. spring — of water
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. ball — a great time
  9. ball — a dance
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — from crying
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. pop — music
  14. pop — soda
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — for paper
  17. spring — a coil
  18. chair — a leader
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. clip — a video
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. fine — high quality
  24. tear — to rip

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