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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: can · bark · cell · spring · mine · row · ball · wake

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. row — a line
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. ball — a great time
  7. mine — for digging
  8. spring — of water
  9. cell — in biology
  10. ball — a dance
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. can — a tin
  13. can — a tin
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. can — to be able to
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. wake — a trail
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. spring — the season
  20. row — to paddle
  21. spring — a coil
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. bark — to shout
  24. cell — a phone

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