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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. present — there
  3. staff — a stick
  4. fine — high quality
  5. staff — employees
  6. club — for golf
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. club — a group
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. present — a gift
  11. saw — the tool
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bark — to shout
  14. club — for dancing
  15. staff — employees
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. saw — the tool
  18. cell — a phone
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. present — the time now
  22. cell — in biology
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. bark — of a tree

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