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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 carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. spring — a coil
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. spring — of water
  5. firm — decided
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bank — for money
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. spring — the season
  15. firm — a company
  16. firm — steady
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bank — for money
  19. sharp — clever
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. bank — of a river
  24. cold — an illness

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