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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. game — wild animals
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. drill — a practice
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. pop — soda
  8. drill — army training
  9. bound — obliged
  10. chip — to eat
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. bound — tied together
  14. pop — music
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. drill — the tool
  19. pop — to visit
  20. shower — rain
  21. chip — for betting
  22. shower — to wash
  23. bound — certain
  24. game — a match

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