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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. saw — the tool
  4. bark — to shout
  5. spring — a coil
  6. pound — a weight
  7. clip — a video
  8. pop — soda
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. pop — music
  12. clip — for paper
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. court — for sport
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. spring — the season
  19. clip — to cut
  20. saw — the tool
  21. pop — to visit
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. court — of a king
  24. court — of law

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