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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. band — a music group
  3. pound — a weight
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. march — the month
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. march — the month
  9. cell — a phone
  10. march — music
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. tube — the underground
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. spring — a coil
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. bark — to shout
  19. spring — the season
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. cell — in biology
  22. tube — a container
  23. band — a ring
  24. band — a rubber band

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