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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. spring — a coil
  6. plane — a tool
  7. spring — of water
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. shower — to wash
  10. shower — rain
  11. bear — the animal
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. row — a line
  14. rush — hurry
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. pit — a hole
  17. row — to paddle
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. spring — the season
  22. pit — in a race
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. row — a quarrel

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