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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 · club · game · rush · wound · bowl · bark · snap

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. wound — an injury
  5. rush — hurry
  6. spring — the season
  7. wound — an injury
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. game — a match
  10. spring — of water
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. club — for dancing
  13. game — wild animals
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. club — for golf
  16. snap — to click
  17. spring — a coil
  18. club — a group
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. bark — to shout
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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