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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — a coil
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. spring — the season
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. tube — the underground
  10. tube — a container
  11. bank — for money
  12. chair — a leader
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cell — a phone
  16. mark — a grade
  17. bank — of a river
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bark — to shout
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. mark — a trace
  22. bank — for money
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. chair — a professorship

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