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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. spring — of water
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. stock — shares
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. bulb — for light
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. bark — to shout
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. bulb — for light
  19. chair — a leader
  20. spring — a coil
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. spring — the season
  24. stock — goods

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