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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 120 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: mate · sharp · bark · pound · spring · mug · cap · wound

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. wound — an injury
  3. spring — of water
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. spring — the season
  7. mug — a face
  8. mate — a partner
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. bark — to shout
  12. mate — to breed
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. wound — an injury
  15. cap — of ice
  16. sharp — clever
  17. mug — a cup
  18. mug — to rob
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. spring — a coil
  21. mate — a friend
  22. pound — a weight
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. cap — a hat

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