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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. spring — of water
  6. spring — the season
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. cap — of ice
  11. bat — the animal
  12. net — in sport
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. spring — a coil
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bark — to shout
  17. cap — a hat
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. cap — a lid
  20. season — of the year
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. net — after costs
  23. season — in sport
  24. bark — of a tree

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