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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: bark · saw · mate · mine · coach · spring · pass · hand

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. hand — help
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. mine — for digging
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. mate — to breed
  9. saw — the tool
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. spring — the season
  12. bark — to shout
  13. spring — a coil
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. mate — a friend
  19. mate — a partner
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. pass — a permit
  23. saw — the tool
  24. spring — of water

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