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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. tear — from crying
  3. staff — a stick
  4. row — to paddle
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. spring — the season
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. kid — child
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. staff — employees
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. row — a line
  16. deal — to handle
  17. tear — from crying
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. kid — to tease
  22. staff — employees
  23. tear — to rip
  24. spring — a coil

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