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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. present — a gift
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. present — the time now
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. game — a match
  7. game — wild animals
  8. present — there
  9. club — a group
  10. bark — to shout
  11. stand — to bear
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. bore — to tire
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. club — for dancing
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bat — the animal
  21. club — for golf
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bore — to drill
  24. stand — for spectators

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