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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 124 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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  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. wake — before a funeral
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. spring — a coil
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. bark — to shout
  6. saw — the tool
  7. date — the fruit
  8. mug — to rob
  9. mug — a face
  10. spring — the season
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. squash — the sport
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. rock — a stone
  15. wake — a trail
  16. spring — of water
  17. squash — to crush
  18. mug — a cup
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. saw — the tool
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. rock — music
  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