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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. foot — a measure
  4. spring — a coil
  5. present — there
  6. fine — all right
  7. fine — high quality
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. march — the month
  10. march — the month
  11. season — of the year
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. march — music
  14. spring — of water
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. bark — to shout
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. spring — the season
  19. season — in sport
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. present — the time now
  22. vault — a safe
  23. present — a gift
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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