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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. kick — in football
  4. bound — certain
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. bound — tied together
  7. net — for catching
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. bound — obliged
  10. rock — a stone
  11. net — in sport
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. season — in sport
  14. bark — to shout
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. rock — music
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. spring — a coil
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. net — after costs
  22. season — of the year
  23. spring — of water
  24. wake — a trail

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