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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 120 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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. spring — the season
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. charge — electricity
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. bark — to shout
  7. saw — the tool
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. band — a ring
  11. band — a music group
  12. charge — in control
  13. foot — a measure
  14. charge — a price
  15. saw — the tool
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. spring — of water
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. dip — to sink
  24. dip — a sauce

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