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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. spell — a short time
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. spring — the season
  5. bark — to shout
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — the tool
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. board — to get on
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. spell — magic
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. file — a tool
  16. file — a line of people
  17. dip — to sink
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. spring — of water
  20. spell — letters
  21. spring — a coil
  22. board — a committee
  23. file — a document
  24. fine — all right

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