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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: bound · spring · bark · fork · land · plane · mouse · dip

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. land — ground
  3. bark — to shout
  4. land — to come down
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. spring — the season
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. spring — a coil
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. spring — of water
  12. land — a country
  13. bound — tied together
  14. dip — to sink
  15. plane — a tool
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. fork — in a road
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bound — certain
  24. plane — in geometry

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