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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 kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. last — finally
  4. bark — to shout
  5. spring — of water
  6. spring — a coil
  7. scale — size or range
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. last — to go on
  11. ground — the earth
  12. last — final
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. rush — hurry
  15. ground — crushed
  16. spring — the season
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. ground — a position
  19. game — wild animals
  20. scale — in music
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. game — a match

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