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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bark — to shout
  4. cap — a hat
  5. pop — to visit
  6. spring — a coil
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. pop — soda
  9. pop — music
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. spring — the season
  12. cap — of ice
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. cap — a lid
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. shower — to wash
  17. shower — rain
  18. stock — goods
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. stock — shares
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. saw — the tool
  23. spring — of water
  24. stock — a soup base

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