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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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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. land — ground
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bat — the animal
  11. mate — a friend
  12. mate — to breed
  13. wind — moving air
  14. net — in sport
  15. net — after costs
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. vault — a safe
  19. net — for catching
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. wind — moving air
  22. land — to come down
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. land — a country

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