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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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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: bowl · spring · ruler · mark · perch · race · bark · content

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. content — happy
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. mark — a trace
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. mark — a grade
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. race — humankind
  13. bark — to shout
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. race — the arms race
  18. content — the amount
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. spring — a coil
  21. perch — the fish
  22. spring — the season
  23. race — a contest
  24. ruler — a monarch

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