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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. rash — a series
  3. row — to paddle
  4. bear — the animal
  5. spring — the season
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. tube — a container
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bear — the animal
  14. tube — the underground
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. rash — hasty
  17. spring — of water
  18. spring — a coil
  19. row — a line
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. wind — moving air

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