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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. spring — of water
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. bass — the fish
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. land — to come down
  9. land — ground
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. saw — the tool
  12. bark — to shout
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — a coil
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. present — the time now
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. bass — low music
  21. land — a country
  22. present — there
  23. saw — the tool
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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