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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. spring — the season
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. game — a match
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. court — for sport
  10. court — of a king
  11. court — of law
  12. mate — a friend
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. tube — the underground
  15. bark — to shout
  16. game — wild animals
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. mate — to breed
  20. tube — a container
  21. spring — a coil
  22. mate — a partner
  23. saw — the tool
  24. spring — of water

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