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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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. shower — rain
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. spring — a coil
  6. date — the fruit
  7. tear — from crying
  8. wake — a trail
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. bear — the animal
  11. tear — to rip
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. spring — of water
  15. plane — a tool
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. season — in sport
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. bear — the animal
  22. season — of the year
  23. tear — from crying
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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