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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. land — ground
  3. bank — of a river
  4. bark — to shout
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. band — a ring
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. land — a country
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. band — a music group
  11. spring — the season
  12. land — to come down
  13. bank — for money
  14. bank — for money
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. spring — of water
  17. toast — bread
  18. spring — a coil

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