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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 116 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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  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. bark — a dog's sound
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. spring — of water
  4. spring — a coil
  5. mate — a partner
  6. race — a contest
  7. mate — a friend
  8. spring — the season
  9. bark — to shout
  10. race — humankind
  11. mate — to breed
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — a line
  14. cap — of ice
  15. race — the arms race
  16. cap — a lid
  17. fine — all right
  18. cap — a hat
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. fine — high quality
  21. pound — a weight
  22. row — to paddle
  23. bark — of a tree
  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