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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 120 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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. game — a match
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. bark — to shout
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. last — final
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. last — to go on
  14. game — wild animals
  15. bear — the animal
  16. cell — in biology
  17. kid — child
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. net — in sport
  20. cell — a phone
  21. kid — to tease
  22. net — for catching
  23. last — finally
  24. net — after costs

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