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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. saw — the tool
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. saw — the tool
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. scale — size or range
  11. spring — the season
  12. spring — a coil
  13. cold — not warm
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. bear — the animal
  16. spring — of water
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. present — there
  19. scale — in music
  20. bear — the animal
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. present — a gift
  23. cold — an illness
  24. bat — the animal

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