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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. mate — a partner
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. mate — to breed
  6. tear — to rip
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bank — of a river
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. spring — of water
  11. bark — to shout
  12. tear — from crying
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. bank — for money
  15. spring — the season
  16. cold — not warm
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bear — the animal
  20. cold — an illness
  21. spring — a coil
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. bank — for money
  24. mate — a friend

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