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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. mate — to breed
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. pound — a weight
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. snap — to click
  8. bass — low music
  9. bear — the animal
  10. mate — a partner
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bark — to shout
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. mate — a friend
  17. spring — of water
  18. bass — the fish
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. bear — the animal
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. spring — the season
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pound — for dogs

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