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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. spring — the season
  3. face — to confront
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. pitch — completely
  9. stock — goods
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. face — to point toward
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. spring — a coil
  14. bark — to shout
  15. perch — the fish
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. stock — shares
  18. band — a ring
  19. spring — of water
  20. band — a music group
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. face — part of the head
  24. deal — an agreement

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