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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. staff — employees
  6. bound — tied together
  7. bound — certain
  8. date — the fruit
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. game — wild animals
  13. staff — employees
  14. game — a match
  15. net — after costs
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. file — a line of people
  18. file — a document
  19. file — a tool
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bound — obliged
  22. net — for catching
  23. staff — a stick
  24. net — in sport

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