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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  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 — to shout
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. spring — the season
  4. spring — of water
  5. band — a ring
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. spring — a coil
  9. band — a music group
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. lean — thin
  12. lean — to bend
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. kid — to tease
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. kid — child
  20. sharp — clever
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. nail — for a hammer
  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