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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. spring — a coil
  3. race — the arms race
  4. spring — of water
  5. bark — to shout
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. bank — for money
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. mine — for digging
  10. bank — for money
  11. degree — an amount
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. track — to keep track
  14. spring — the season
  15. degree — from a university
  16. cell — a phone
  17. track — a path
  18. bank — of a river
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. degree — temperature
  21. race — humankind
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. race — a contest
  24. cell — in biology

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