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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. object — to protest
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. mate — to breed
  5. bark — to shout
  6. kid — to tease
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. kid — child
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. mate — a partner
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. last — final
  13. object — a thing
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. object — an aim
  16. wake — a trail
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. last — finally
  22. fork — in a road
  23. last — to go on
  24. mate — a friend

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