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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. track — a song
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. track — to keep track
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. track — a path
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. bark — to shout
  9. kick — in football
  10. game — wild animals
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. mate — a partner
  14. game — a match
  15. season — in sport
  16. season — of the year
  17. mate — a friend
  18. game — a kind of play

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