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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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Word bank
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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: bear · fall · spring · rush · fine · bat · ground · lie

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  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. ground — a position
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. fine — high quality
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. ground — crushed
  7. spring — the season
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. fall — to drop
  10. ground — the earth
  11. fall — the season
  12. rush — hurry
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. spring — of water
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bear — the animal
  19. spring — a coil
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fine — all right
  23. lie — to recline
  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