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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. mate — a partner
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. rush — hurry
  5. mate — to breed
  6. spring — of water
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. prune — to trim
  9. foot — a measure
  10. row — a line
  11. bat — the animal
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — to paddle
  14. mate — a friend
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. prune — to trim
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. spring — the season
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. pit — in a race
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. pit — a hole

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