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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. spring — of water
  4. spring — a coil
  5. club — for dancing
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. rash — a series
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. net — after costs
  12. spring — the season
  13. cell — in biology
  14. net — in sport
  15. club — a group
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. club — for golf
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. bark — to shout
  21. rash — hasty
  22. cell — a phone
  23. ball — a great time
  24. ball — a dance

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