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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. fall — to drop
  3. present — the time now
  4. roll — a cake
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. fall — to drop
  7. spring — a coil
  8. roll — a list
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. bulb — for light
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. lie — to recline
  13. bark — to shout
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. spring — the season
  18. bulb — for light
  19. fall — the season
  20. shower — rain
  21. present — a gift
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. present — there
  24. shower — to wash

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