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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. sharp — clever
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. stand — to bear
  7. snap — to click
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. spring — of water
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. spring — the season
  14. rush — hurry
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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