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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. spring — the season
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. bark — to shout
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. spring — a coil
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. spring — of water
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. charge — electricity
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. pound — a weight
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. charge — a price
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. wound — an injury
  23. dip — to sink
  24. charge — in control

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