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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. saw — the tool
  4. pound — a weight
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. staff — employees
  7. land — ground
  8. staff — a stick
  9. board — a committee
  10. bark — to shout
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. staff — employees
  16. board — to get on
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. land — a country
  24. land — to come down

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