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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 don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  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. rock — to move gently
  2. face — to point toward
  3. spring — the season
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. face — to confront
  6. hand — in cards
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. cue — a hint
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. rock — music
  11. hand — help
  12. cue — a signal
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. spring — a coil
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. spring — of water
  18. rock — a stone
  19. face — part of the head
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. stock — goods
  22. cue — for pool
  23. stock — shares
  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