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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. spring — a coil
  3. ground — the earth
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. ground — crushed
  7. ground — a position
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. mine — for digging
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. root — of a plant
  18. root — of a word
  19. bark — to shout
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. spring — the season
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. spring — of water
  24. root — the cause

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