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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 people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. bark — to shout
  3. chip — for betting
  4. tube — a container
  5. last — final
  6. spring — the season
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. date — the fruit
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. chip — to eat
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. spring — of water
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. tube — the underground
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. last — finally
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. last — to go on
  24. spring — a coil

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