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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. spring — of water
  6. bank — of a river
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bank — for money
  11. bank — for money
  12. current — happening now
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. spring — a coil
  18. current — of water
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. hand — in cards
  21. spring — the season
  22. current — electric
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bark — to shout

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