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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pit · present · date · lie · tear · straw · bear · spring

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. pit — in a race
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. spring — a coil
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. tear — from crying
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. spring — of water
  13. tear — from crying
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. spring — the season
  16. present — there
  17. lie — to recline
  18. tear — to rip
  19. date — the fruit
  20. present — the time now
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. present — a gift
  24. bear — 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