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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. row — a line
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. spring — the season
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. row — to paddle
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. bark — to shout
  12. tube — the underground
  13. spring — a coil
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. prune — to trim
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. plane — a tool
  22. tube — a container
  23. rush — hurry
  24. rush — a thrill

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