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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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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: spring · bat · cue · fan · lie · roll · pop · bark

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. spring — the season
  3. pop — music
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. bat — the animal
  6. spring — a coil
  7. roll — a cake
  8. cue — a signal
  9. pop — soda
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. cue — for pool
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bark — to shout
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. cue — a hint
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. roll — a list
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. spring — of water
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. pop — to visit

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