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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 120 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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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: staff · bark · hand · suit · spring · deal · cold · snap

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. staff — a stick
  3. spring — the season
  4. suit — in cards
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. staff — employees
  7. deal — to handle
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. spring — of water
  10. staff — employees
  11. hand — in cards
  12. cold — not warm
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. suit — clothes
  15. snap — to click
  16. cold — an illness
  17. hand — help
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. spring — a coil
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. suit — to fit
  24. bark — to shout

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