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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. cold — not warm
  3. spring — the season
  4. fall — the season
  5. spring — a coil
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. fall — to drop
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. mark — a trace
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. mark — a grade
  17. bark — to shout
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. spring — of water
  20. fall — to drop
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. cold — an illness
  23. date — the fruit
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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