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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. can — a tin
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. craft — a skill
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. mine — for digging
  9. squash — to crush
  10. can — to be able to
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. craft — boats
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. can — a tin
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. squash — the sport
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. fork — in a road

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