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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. tear — to rip
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. wake — a trail
  6. cue — for pool
  7. spell — letters
  8. spring — a coil
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. spell — a short time
  11. bark — to shout
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. hand — in cards
  14. tear — from crying
  15. spring — of water
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — help
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. cue — a signal
  22. cue — a hint
  23. tear — from crying
  24. spell — magic

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