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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. spring — of water
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. spring — the season
  5. court — for sport
  6. bark — to shout
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. wound — an injury
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. bass — low music
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. wound — an injury
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. dip — to sink
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bass — the fish
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. court — of a king
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. court — of law
  24. dip — to dunk

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