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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. mate — a partner
  3. staff — a stick
  4. fall — to drop
  5. mate — a friend
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. fall — the season
  9. scale — size or range
  10. suit — to fit
  11. shower — to wash
  12. mate — to breed
  13. scale — in music
  14. bark — to shout
  15. suit — in cards
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. fall — to drop
  18. field — for sport
  19. shower — rain
  20. suit — clothes
  21. field — farmland
  22. staff — employees
  23. field — a subject
  24. staff — employees

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