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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. spring — a coil
  4. degree — from a university
  5. saw — the tool
  6. spring — of water
  7. saw — the tool
  8. mug — a cup
  9. mug — a face
  10. face — part of the head
  11. mug — to rob
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. degree — temperature
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bark — to shout
  16. degree — an amount
  17. face — to confront
  18. face — to point toward

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