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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. land — ground
  3. hand — in cards
  4. sharp — clever
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. land — to come down
  8. stand — to bear
  9. mark — a trace
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. bark — to shout
  14. land — a country
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. hand — help
  18. game — a match
  19. spring — a coil
  20. spring — of water
  21. game — wild animals
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. mark — a grade
  24. game — a kind of play

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