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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · wound · bark · cold · wave · jam · plane · spring

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. spring — of water
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. cold — not warm
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. cold — an illness
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bore — to tire
  16. bark — to shout
  17. wound — an injury
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. wound — an injury
  20. spring — the season
  21. bore — to drill
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. plane — a tool
  24. spring — a coil

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