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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. pop — music
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. spring — of water
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. pop — soda
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. sharp — clever
  11. track — to keep track
  12. spring — the season
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. pop — to visit
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. spring — a coil
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. track — a song
  23. track — a path
  24. patient — a sick person

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