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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 ________________ went through the wall.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. spring — the season
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. spell — magic
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. mug — a face
  7. bark — to shout
  8. game — a match
  9. mug — to rob
  10. mug — a cup
  11. wound — an injury
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. rule — a law
  16. game — wild animals
  17. spring — of water
  18. spring — a coil
  19. wound — an injury
  20. rule — government
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. spell — a short time
  23. spell — letters
  24. nail — on a finger

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