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

Word bank: saw · bark · wind · bear · roll · cell · ground · ruler

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. saw — the tool
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. ground — a position
  6. bear — the animal
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. roll — a cake
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cell — in biology
  12. saw — the tool
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. ground — crushed
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. roll — a list
  24. ground — the earth

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