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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. bark — to shout
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wind — moving air
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. club — a group
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. club — for dancing
  10. drill — a practice
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. wind — moving air
  17. club — for golf
  18. deal — to handle
  19. drill — the tool
  20. drill — army training
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. wound — an injury
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. game — wild animals

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