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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. spring — of water
  3. scale — in music
  4. fine — high quality
  5. current — electric
  6. fine — all right
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. staff — employees
  12. current — of water
  13. spring — the season
  14. bark — to shout
  15. scale — size or range
  16. current — happening now
  17. spring — a coil
  18. mark — a trace
  19. staff — a stick
  20. wind — moving air
  21. mark — a grade
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. staff — employees
  24. wind — moving air

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