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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — the season
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. drill — army training
  8. fine — high quality
  9. drill — a practice
  10. branch — a division
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. board — a committee
  13. capital — a city
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. fine — all right
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. spring — a coil
  20. board — to get on
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. capital — money
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. drill — the tool

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