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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. cell — a phone
  3. key — the most important part
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. stand — to bear
  6. spring — of water
  7. tear — from crying
  8. file — a tool
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. file — a document
  11. key — for a lock
  12. can — a tin
  13. tear — to rip
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. spring — a coil
  17. cell — in biology
  18. key — in music
  19. can — a tin
  20. can — to be able to
  21. shower — to wash
  22. shower — rain
  23. file — a line of people
  24. tear — from crying

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