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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. scale — in music
  3. bore — to tire
  4. tear — from crying
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. content — happy
  8. pop — music
  9. tear — to rip
  10. spring — the season
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. scale — size or range
  14. bore — to drill
  15. spring — a coil
  16. content — the amount
  17. pop — to visit
  18. plane — a tool
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. tear — from crying
  23. rush — hurry
  24. pop — soda

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