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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 116 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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. suit — in cards
  4. tube — a container
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. hand — help
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. pitch — completely
  9. hand — in cards
  10. bark — to shout
  11. suit — clothes
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. capital — a city
  14. suit — to fit
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. spring — of water
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. tube — the underground
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. capital — money
  23. spring — a coil
  24. pitch — a sports field

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