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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. lean — thin
  3. mine — for digging
  4. spring — the season
  5. cue — a hint
  6. chest — of your body
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. ground — the earth
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. spring — a coil
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. ground — crushed
  13. ground — a position
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. snap — to click
  16. chest — a box
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. chest — of your body
  20. lean — to bend
  21. cue — a signal
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. cue — for pool

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