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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. field — farmland
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. suit — to fit
  5. suit — in cards
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. chip — to eat
  8. field — for sport
  9. kick — in football
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. chip — for betting
  12. tube — the underground
  13. spring — the season
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. spring — of water
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. bark — to shout
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. field — a subject
  21. tube — a container
  22. suit — clothes
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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