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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — employees
  3. fork — in a road
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. net — for catching
  8. staff — a stick
  9. chest — a box
  10. chest — of your body
  11. squash — to crush
  12. drill — a practice
  13. saw — the tool
  14. drill — the tool
  15. net — after costs
  16. chest — of your body
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. squash — the sport
  21. drill — army training
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. saw — the tool
  24. net — 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