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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. kid — to tease
  3. suit — in cards
  4. bark — to shout
  5. foot — a measure
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. suit — to fit
  12. fork — in a road
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. kid — child
  15. land — ground
  16. rash — a series
  17. suit — clothes
  18. chip — for betting
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. land — a country
  23. chip — to eat
  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