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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 120 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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. board — a committee
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. spring — the season
  5. cold — an illness
  6. spring — of water
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. prune — to trim
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. prune — to trim
  16. cold — not warm
  17. deal — to handle
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. spring — a coil
  21. foot — a measure
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. board — to get on

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