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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. track — a path
  3. bound — certain
  4. track — a song
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. file — a tool
  7. bark — to shout
  8. spring — a coil
  9. file — a line of people
  10. rash — hasty
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. bound — tied together
  13. can — to be able to
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. can — a tin
  17. rash — a series
  18. deal — to handle
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. file — a document
  21. spring — the season
  22. bound — obliged
  23. can — a tin
  24. track — to keep track

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