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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 116 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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. spring — a coil
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. rock — a stone
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. snap — to click
  10. rock — music
  11. cap — a lid
  12. bark — to shout
  13. spring — of water
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. spring — the season
  16. cap — a hat
  17. cap — of ice
  18. pitcher — in baseball

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