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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. mine — for digging
  3. race — a contest
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. rash — a series
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. bark — to shout
  10. race — the arms race
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. pitch — completely
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. race — humankind
  16. rash — hasty
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. tube — a container
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. spring — a coil
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. spring — of water
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. tube — the underground

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