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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. shower — to wash
  3. branch — a division
  4. cue — for pool
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. cue — a hint
  7. spring — of water
  8. season — in sport
  9. cue — a signal
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. season — of the year
  13. spring — a coil
  14. wind — moving air
  15. shower — rain
  16. spring — the season
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bark — to shout
  19. pit — a hole
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. wind — moving air
  23. pit — in a race
  24. branch — of a tree

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