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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. spring — of water
  3. rash — a series
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — to cut
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. swing — music
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. deal — to handle
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. spring — a coil
  15. swing — to play on
  16. stem — to come from
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. spring — the season
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. clip — a video
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. swing — in golf
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. bark — to shout

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