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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. saw — the tool
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. pitch — completely
  9. last — final
  10. net — for catching
  11. last — finally
  12. bark — to shout
  13. branch — a division
  14. saw — the tool
  15. net — in sport
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. net — after costs
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. last — to go on

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