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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. present — a gift
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. club — for golf
  5. fine — high quality
  6. land — a country
  7. bark — to shout
  8. spring — the season
  9. bore — to drill
  10. spring — of water
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. present — there
  13. present — the time now
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. spring — a coil
  16. land — to come down
  17. land — ground
  18. cap — a lid
  19. club — a group
  20. fine — all right
  21. bore — to tire
  22. cap — a hat
  23. club — for dancing
  24. cap — of ice

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