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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 little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. chest — a box
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. race — the arms race
  5. race — humankind
  6. key — for a lock
  7. spring — a coil
  8. band — a ring
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. capital — a city
  11. capital — money
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bark — to shout
  14. spring — of water
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. band — a music group
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. key — in music
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. spring — the season
  21. key — the most important part
  22. race — a contest
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — of your body

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