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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. spring — the season
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. ball — a great time
  6. bulb — for light
  7. hand — help
  8. spring — a coil
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. wake — a trail
  12. bark — to shout
  13. stock — shares
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. wind — moving air
  17. hand — in cards
  18. spring — of water
  19. bulb — for light
  20. stock — goods
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. ball — a dance

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