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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  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. bark — of a tree
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. land — to come down
  4. spring — a coil
  5. land — ground
  6. tube — the underground
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. suit — in cards
  9. pit — in a race
  10. suit — clothes
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. suit — to fit
  14. perch — the fish
  15. press — a publisher
  16. spring — the season
  17. pit — a hole
  18. press — newspapers
  19. press — to push
  20. tube — a container
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. bark — to shout
  23. land — a country
  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