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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. spring — of water
  4. fall — to drop
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. fall — to drop
  7. can — a tin
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bore — to drill
  10. fall — the season
  11. spring — the season
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. bark — to shout
  15. can — a tin
  16. bore — to tire
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. cell — a phone
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. spring — a coil
  23. can — to be able to
  24. cell — in biology

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