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

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. spring — of water
  3. bear — the animal
  4. court — for sport
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. bat — the animal
  8. fine — all right
  9. court — of law
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — the season
  13. fine — high quality
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bear — the animal
  16. court — of a king
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. bark — a dog's sound

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