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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. spring — a coil
  4. cue — a hint
  5. bass — the fish
  6. board — a committee
  7. mug — a cup
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. mug — to rob
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. spring — the season
  12. tear — to rip
  13. mug — a face
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. board — to get on
  16. cue — for pool
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. spring — of water
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. cue — a signal
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — from crying

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