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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: bat · rule · present · spring · rush · bark · firm · mine

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. firm — decided
  3. bark — to shout
  4. rule — government
  5. present — the time now
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. spring — a coil
  9. bat — the animal
  10. rush — hurry
  11. rule — a law
  12. firm — steady
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. present — there
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. mine — for digging
  19. spring — the season
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. present — a gift
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. spring — of water

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