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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. spring — of water
  5. land — to come down
  6. cell — in biology
  7. board — to get on
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. land — ground
  10. spring — a coil
  11. march — music
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. saw — the tool
  14. land — a country
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. march — the month
  18. spring — the season
  19. wound — an injury
  20. cell — a phone
  21. board — a committee
  22. march — the month
  23. wound — an injury
  24. saw — 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