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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 120 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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. stock — shares
  3. staff — employees
  4. staff — a stick
  5. staff — employees
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. spring — of water
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. spring — a coil
  11. bore — to tire
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. bore — to drill
  15. stock — goods
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. sharp — clever
  21. bark — to shout
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. vault — a safe
  24. bark — of a tree

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