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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 124 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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. spring — a coil
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. ground — the earth
  6. cold — an illness
  7. ground — crushed
  8. ground — a position
  9. spring — of water
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. mark — a trace
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. cold — not warm
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. rush — hurry
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. mark — a grade
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. spring — the season
  24. rush — to hurry

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