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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. drill — army training
  3. shower — to wash
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. spring — the season
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. lie — to recline
  9. pop — music
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. spring — a coil
  12. shower — rain
  13. bark — to shout
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. drill — a practice
  17. capital — a city
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. drill — the tool
  20. pop — soda
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. pop — to visit
  23. capital — money
  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