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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. last — finally
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. spring — a coil
  7. club — for golf
  8. chair — a leader
  9. object — to protest
  10. mine — for digging
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. last — final
  13. club — a group
  14. stock — shares
  15. last — to go on
  16. bark — to shout
  17. spring — the season
  18. stock — goods
  19. object — an aim
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. object — a thing
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. club — for dancing
  24. chair — a professorship

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