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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 116 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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. pop — to visit
  3. spring — the season
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. spring — a coil
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. last — finally
  14. capital — a city
  15. bark — to shout
  16. pass — a permit
  17. spring — of water
  18. pop — soda
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — final
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. capital — money
  24. pop — music

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