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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. spell — magic
  5. cap — a lid
  6. cap — of ice
  7. spring — a coil
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. spell — letters
  11. shower — rain
  12. spring — of water
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. shower — to wash
  15. game — wild animals
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. row — a line
  18. spell — a short time
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. cap — a hat
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. game — a match
  24. row — to paddle

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