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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. spring — the season
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. chip — to eat
  5. wake — a trail
  6. bore — to tire
  7. bore — to drill
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. hand — in cards
  14. hand — help
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. season — in sport
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. season — of the year
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. chip — for betting
  21. tube — the underground
  22. spring — of water
  23. tube — a container
  24. bark — to shout

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