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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. lie — to recline
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. suit — to fit
  9. game — a match
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. suit — in cards
  15. bass — low music
  16. bark — to shout
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. game — wild animals
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. suit — clothes
  21. spring — of water
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. spring — a coil

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