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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. staff — employees
  4. staff — a stick
  5. tube — the underground
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. tube — a container
  11. mine — for digging
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. capital — money
  15. capital — a city
  16. staff — employees
  17. shower — rain
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. bark — to shout
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. game — a match
  22. game — wild animals
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. shower — to wash

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