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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 116 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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. lean — to bend
  3. tube — a container
  4. dip — to sink
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. pass — a permit
  13. lean — thin
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. spring — the season
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. band — a ring
  19. band — a music group
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. tube — the underground
  22. spring — of water
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. bat — for baseball

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