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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 120 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 little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. spring — of water
  3. spring — the season
  4. craft — a skill
  5. bark — to shout
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. last — finally
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. rush — hurry
  12. last — final
  13. bat — the animal
  14. spring — a coil
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. pound — a weight
  19. craft — boats
  20. last — to go on
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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