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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. spring — of water
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. spring — the season
  7. rush — hurry
  8. tear — from crying
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. cell — a phone
  11. tear — from crying
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. tear — to rip
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. cell — in biology
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. spring — a coil
  24. pitcher — a jug

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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