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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. toast — bread
  3. land — to come down
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. bark — to shout
  6. land — ground
  7. board — to get on
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. pit — in a race
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. pit — a hole
  13. key — in music
  14. board — a committee
  15. key — the most important part
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. wound — an injury
  18. date — the fruit
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. wound — an injury
  22. land — a country
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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