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

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. spell — magic
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. squash — the sport
  6. cue — a hint
  7. spell — a short time
  8. squash — to crush
  9. face — to confront
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. bark — to shout
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. scale — in music
  16. spell — letters
  17. face — to point toward
  18. cue — a signal
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. chip — to eat
  21. cue — for pool
  22. face — part of the head
  23. chip — for betting
  24. scale — size or range

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