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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. pound — a weight
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. chip — for betting
  5. ball — a dance
  6. bark — to shout
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. net — for catching
  10. ball — a great time
  11. net — after costs
  12. file — a line of people
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. chip — to eat
  19. net — in sport
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. file — a tool
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. file — a document
  24. coach — a trainer

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