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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — the season
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. file — a line of people
  6. pop — to visit
  7. file — a tool
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. file — a document
  10. mug — to rob
  11. cap — a lid
  12. fall — to drop
  13. mug — a cup
  14. cap — a hat
  15. spring — the season
  16. spring — of water
  17. mug — a face
  18. bark — to shout
  19. pop — soda
  20. cap — of ice
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cell — a phone
  23. pop — music
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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