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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. chest — of your body
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. chip — to eat
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bass — the fish
  12. band — a ring
  13. spell — a short time
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. bark — to shout
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. spell — letters
  18. wind — moving air
  19. band — a music group
  20. spell — magic
  21. chip — for betting
  22. chest — a box
  23. bass — low music
  24. chest — of your body

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