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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  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. spring — a coil
  2. face — to confront
  3. march — the month
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. prune — to trim
  7. spring — of water
  8. ball — a great time
  9. face — part of the head
  10. prune — to trim
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. face — to point toward
  14. march — the month
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. march — music
  19. spring — the season
  20. ball — a dance
  21. sharp — clever
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. lash — an eyelash
  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