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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. band — a ring
  3. spring — the season
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. band — a music group
  6. spring — of water
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. spring — a coil
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. pound — a weight
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bark — to shout
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. wind — moving air
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. wind — moving air
  24. trunk — of a car

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