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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. saw — the tool
  5. prune — to trim
  6. charge — in control
  7. spring — of water
  8. prune — to trim
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. bass — low music
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. saw — the tool
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. cold — not warm
  16. spring — the season
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. charge — a price
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cold — an illness
  21. bass — the fish
  22. bark — to shout
  23. charge — electricity
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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