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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. drill — the tool
  3. tear — to rip
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. drill — army training
  6. prune — to trim
  7. spring — the season
  8. drill — a practice
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. bass — low music
  12. mug — to rob
  13. bass — the fish
  14. mug — a face
  15. spring — a coil
  16. chip — to eat
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. tear — from crying
  19. mug — a cup
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. tear — from crying
  22. chip — for betting
  23. prune — to trim
  24. chip — in a computer

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