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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: spring · bore · bark · craft · club · bear · march · mine

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. club — for golf
  3. craft — a skill
  4. club — a group
  5. bear — the animal
  6. craft — boats
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. spring — a coil
  9. bore — to drill
  10. march — the month
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. march — the month
  15. march — music
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. mine — for digging
  18. bore — to tire
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. club — for dancing
  22. bear — the animal
  23. spring — of water
  24. craft — a handicraft

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