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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: fine · ground · rest · bark · spring · cold · staff · ball

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. spring — the season
  3. ground — the earth
  4. bark — to shout
  5. spring — a coil
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. cold — not warm
  9. rest — what's left
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. ground — a position
  12. staff — a stick
  13. fine — all right
  14. rest — a break
  15. rest — what's left
  16. staff — employees
  17. ground — crushed
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. fine — high quality
  20. ball — a great time
  21. spring — of water
  22. ball — a dance
  23. staff — employees
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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