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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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. land — to come down
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. key — for a lock
  5. key — the most important part
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. key — in music
  8. prune — to trim
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. bass — the fish
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. land — a country
  14. land — ground
  15. drill — army training
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. drill — a practice
  18. prune — to trim
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. drill — the tool
  21. bass — low music
  22. chip — for betting
  23. bark — to shout
  24. hide — animal skin

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