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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bore — to tire
  4. ball — a dance
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. swing — to play on
  7. swing — music
  8. swing — in golf
  9. wind — moving air
  10. ball — a great time
  11. land — to come down
  12. spring — the season
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. land — a country
  15. land — ground
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. bore — to drill
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. spring — a coil

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