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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. court — of law
  3. spring — the season
  4. spring — a coil
  5. current — electric
  6. stock — goods
  7. current — of water
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. current — happening now
  10. track — to keep track
  11. rest — what's left
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bark — to shout
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. court — of a king
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. rest — a break
  19. rest — what's left
  20. stock — shares
  21. court — for sport
  22. track — a song
  23. track — a path
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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