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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. shower — to wash
  3. hand — help
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. craft — boats
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. spring — of water
  8. charge — electricity
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. cap — a hat
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. charge — in control
  14. spring — a coil
  15. cap — of ice
  16. cap — a lid
  17. deal — to handle
  18. charge — a price
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. hand — in cards
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. shower — rain
  23. craft — a skill
  24. ruler — for measuring

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