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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. bark — to shout
  4. firm — a company
  5. toast — bread
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. spring — a coil
  8. wound — an injury
  9. cell — in biology
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. wound — an injury
  13. firm — decided
  14. hand — help
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. spring — the season
  17. cell — a phone
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. firm — steady
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. hand — in cards

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