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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. hand — in cards
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. staff — a stick
  7. land — ground
  8. bore — to drill
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. face — to confront
  11. hand — help
  12. staff — employees
  13. bore — to tire
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. degree — from a university
  16. face — to point toward
  17. staff — employees
  18. face — part of the head
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. degree — an amount
  21. land — to come down
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. degree — temperature
  24. bark — to shout

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