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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. land — a country
  6. bass — the fish
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bark — to shout
  10. chip — to eat
  11. wake — a trail
  12. chip — for betting
  13. chest — a box
  14. season — of the year
  15. land — to come down
  16. chest — of your body
  17. bass — low music
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. land — ground
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. season — in sport

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