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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. spring — of water
  3. band — a ring
  4. drill — army training
  5. spring — a coil
  6. bark — to shout
  7. staff — employees
  8. rest — what's left
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. rest — what's left
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. staff — employees
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. staff — a stick
  19. drill — a practice
  20. drill — the tool
  21. fork — in a road
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. rest — a break
  24. band — a music group

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