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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. march — music
  4. chest — of your body
  5. march — the month
  6. spring — the season
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. march — the month
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. lean — thin
  17. lean — to bend
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. chest — a box
  21. stock — goods
  22. stock — shares
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. spring — of water

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