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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: bore · toast · spring · bark · bound · pitcher · row · season

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. spring — the season
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. bound — certain
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. season — of the year
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. spring — of water
  11. bore — to tire
  12. row — a line
  13. bore — to drill
  14. bark — to shout
  15. season — in sport
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. bound — obliged
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. bound — tied together
  22. toast — bread
  23. row — to paddle
  24. bark — of a tree

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