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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. spring — the season
  3. saw — the tool
  4. ground — the earth
  5. bark — to shout
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. ground — crushed
  8. branch — a division
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. wake — a trail
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. craft — a skill
  15. capital — money
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. craft — boats
  19. spring — a coil
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. saw — the tool
  23. capital — a city
  24. spring — of water

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