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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: bark · game · spring · bowl · prune · race · net · march

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. spring — the season
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. spring — of water
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. bark — to shout
  8. race — the arms race
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. march — music
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. race — humankind
  14. prune — to trim
  15. net — after costs
  16. spring — a coil
  17. prune — to trim
  18. net — for catching
  19. march — the month
  20. game — wild animals
  21. race — a contest
  22. march — the month
  23. game — a match
  24. bowl — to roll

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