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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. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. pop — soda
  3. spring — the season
  4. mate — a friend
  5. spring — of water
  6. current — of water
  7. foot — a measure
  8. pop — music
  9. bark — to shout
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. spring — a coil
  12. current — electric
  13. drill — a practice
  14. pop — to visit
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. chest — of your body
  17. mate — a partner
  18. mate — to breed
  19. drill — the tool
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. current — happening now
  22. chest — a box
  23. chest — of your body
  24. drill — army training

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