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

Word bank: straw · tear · spring · cell · present · bowl · pit · row

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. row — a line
  3. spring — of water
  4. tear — to rip
  5. spring — a coil
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. spring — the season
  8. present — there
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. present — a gift
  14. row — to paddle
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. cell — in biology
  17. pit — a hole
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. present — the time now
  22. cell — a phone
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. tear — from crying

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