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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. bark — to shout
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. ground — crushed
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. present — a gift
  10. pit — a hole
  11. pit — in a race
  12. spring — of water
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. spring — the season
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. ground — the earth
  17. degree — an amount
  18. degree — temperature
  19. ground — a position
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. present — there
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. degree — from a university
  24. present — the time now

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