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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. deal — to handle
  3. bound — certain
  4. spring — the season
  5. rock — a stone
  6. tear — from crying
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. capital — money
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. rock — music
  11. tear — to rip
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. tear — from crying
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. bound — tied together
  17. spring — a coil
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. bound — obliged
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. capital — a city

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