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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. season — of the year
  3. ground — crushed
  4. spring — the season
  5. spring — a coil
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. spring — of water
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. ground — a position
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. ground — the earth
  18. ball — a dance
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. ball — a great time
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. season — in sport
  24. cabinet — ministers

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