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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. net — for catching
  3. bound — tied together
  4. last — finally
  5. bound — certain
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. swing — in golf
  8. spring — of water
  9. bark — to shout
  10. net — after costs
  11. game — a match
  12. swing — to play on
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. spring — a coil
  15. net — in sport
  16. swing — music
  17. spring — the season
  18. last — final
  19. current — happening now
  20. current — electric
  21. bound — obliged
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. current — of water
  24. last — to go on

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