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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. perch — the fish
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. can — a tin
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. bark — to shout
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. band — a music group
  14. mate — a partner
  15. can — a tin
  16. spring — the season
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. mate — to breed
  19. spring — of water
  20. deal — to handle
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. mate — a friend
  23. can — to be able to
  24. band — a ring

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