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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 116 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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. bark — to shout
  4. staff — employees
  5. tube — a container
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. present — a gift
  8. game — a match
  9. tube — the underground
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. shower — rain
  12. present — the time now
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. staff — employees
  17. game — wild animals
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. fork — in a road
  21. staff — a stick
  22. present — there
  23. shower — to wash
  24. tube — in a tire

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