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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. plane — a tool
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. spring — a coil
  9. spring — of water
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. bark — to shout
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. bat — the animal
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. fork — in a road

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