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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. last — final
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. rash — a series
  5. last — finally
  6. rash — hasty
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. rest — what's left
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. scale — size or range
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. bark — to shout
  15. scale — in music
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. chest — a box
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. rest — a break
  21. last — to go on
  22. rest — what's left
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — of your body

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