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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 coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. bark — to shout
  3. hand — help
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. hand — in cards
  6. band — a ring
  7. spring — the season
  8. spring — a coil
  9. mate — a partner
  10. rash — hasty
  11. mate — to breed
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. mate — a friend
  14. band — a music group
  15. mark — a grade
  16. mark — a trace
  17. spring — of water
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. swing — to play on
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. swing — music
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. rash — a series

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