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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. ground — the earth
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. cell — a phone
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. bark — to shout
  14. roll — a list
  15. ground — crushed
  16. plane — a tool
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. roll — a cake
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. kick — in football
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. chair — a leader
  23. ground — a position
  24. cell — in biology

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