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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — the season
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. spring — a coil
  6. rule — government
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. cue — a hint
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. capital — a city
  12. bark — to shout
  13. saw — the tool
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. cue — a signal
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. capital — money
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. cue — for pool
  21. rule — a law
  22. saw — the tool
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. pound — a weight

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