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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 surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. capital — money
  4. lean — to bend
  5. hand — help
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. hand — in cards
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. bore — to drill
  10. bore — to tire
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. capital — a city
  16. spring — the season
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. spring — of water
  21. spring — a coil
  22. bark — to shout
  23. lean — thin
  24. bore — gave birth

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