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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. dip — to sink
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. bound — certain
  7. spring — of water
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. key — in music
  11. snap — to click
  12. key — for a lock
  13. bound — tied together
  14. tube — a container
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. key — the most important part
  17. tube — the underground
  18. capital — money
  19. spring — the season
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. capital — a city
  22. spring — a coil
  23. bound — obliged
  24. bark — to shout

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