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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. spring — of water
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. cell — a phone
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. fall — to drop
  8. spring — a coil
  9. fall — to drop
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. wound — an injury
  13. spring — the season
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. craft — boats
  16. wound — an injury
  17. cell — in biology
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. dip — to sink
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. fall — the season
  22. craft — a skill
  23. rush — hurry
  24. dip — to dunk

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