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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: rest · fan · bark · date · bear · snap · trunk · spring

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. spring — the season
  3. spring — a coil
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — a break
  10. bear — the animal
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bark — to shout
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. rest — what's left
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. spring — of water
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. date — the fruit
  24. fan — to cool the air

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