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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. net — after costs
  3. tube — the underground
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. fork — in a road
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. hand — in cards
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. net — for catching
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. net — in sport
  14. pound — a weight
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. hand — help
  20. bound — obliged
  21. bound — tied together
  22. bound — certain
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. tube — a container

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