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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. board — to get on
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. game — wild animals
  9. plane — a tool
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. kid — to tease
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. kick — in football
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. toast — bread
  16. game — a match
  17. board — a committee
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. dip — to sink
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. kid — child
  23. bark — to shout
  24. bark — of a tree

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