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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. spring — a coil
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. drill — a practice
  6. pop — to visit
  7. fall — to drop
  8. spring — the season
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. fall — to drop
  11. pop — soda
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bark — to shout
  14. drill — army training
  15. mine — for digging
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. pop — music
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. bear — the animal
  20. drill — the tool
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. fall — the season
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. spring — of water

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