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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 116 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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. swing — in golf
  4. tear — to rip
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. spring — the season
  7. swing — music
  8. perch — the fish
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. rush — hurry
  11. spring — a coil
  12. tear — from crying
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. tear — from crying
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — to drop
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. swing — to play on
  24. fall — the season

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