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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. ground — a position
  3. staff — a stick
  4. march — the month
  5. bark — to shout
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. staff — employees
  9. staff — employees
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. track — a song
  15. wind — moving air
  16. track — to keep track
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. ground — crushed
  19. track — a path
  20. march — music
  21. march — the month
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. ground — the earth
  24. bowl — a dish

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