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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. 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. bark — of a tree
  2. tube — the underground
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. court — of law
  5. land — ground
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. court — of a king
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. mark — a trace
  11. mark — a grade
  12. spring — the season
  13. court — for sport
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. rock — a stone
  16. spring — a coil
  17. land — a country
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. spring — of water
  20. rock — music
  21. land — to come down
  22. tube — a container
  23. bark — to shout
  24. 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