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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. swing — music
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. tear — from crying
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. tear — to rip
  8. swing — in golf
  9. game — a match
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bound — certain
  12. bound — obliged
  13. bound — tied together
  14. tear — from crying
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. saw — the tool
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. fork — in a road
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. swing — to play on
  22. saw — the tool
  23. bark — to shout
  24. fork — a garden tool

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