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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  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. pitch — a sports field
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. spring — the season
  4. last — finally
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bear — the animal
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. spell — letters
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. spring — a coil
  11. bear — the animal
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. file — a document
  14. file — a line of people
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. file — a tool
  17. last — to go on
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. bark — to shout
  20. pitch — completely
  21. spell — a short time
  22. last — final
  23. spell — magic
  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