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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. cap — a hat
  3. wake — a trail
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. bank — of a river
  6. track — a path
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. spring — of water
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. cap — a lid
  11. bank — for money
  12. track — to keep track
  13. cap — of ice
  14. track — a song
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. shower — rain
  18. bank — for money
  19. row — to paddle
  20. shower — to wash
  21. row — a line
  22. spring — a coil
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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