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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. spring — a coil
  3. saw — the tool
  4. mug — a face
  5. track — a song
  6. wind — moving air
  7. land — ground
  8. mug — to rob
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. plane — a tool
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. mug — a cup
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. track — a path
  18. spring — of water
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. land — a country
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. track — to keep track
  23. bark — to shout
  24. land — to come down

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