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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 116 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 hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. can — a tin
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. band — a music group
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. drill — a practice
  10. hand — help
  11. can — to be able to
  12. band — a ring
  13. hand — in cards
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. drill — the tool
  16. pit — in a race
  17. can — a tin
  18. pit — a hole
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. bark — to shout
  21. snap — to click
  22. drill — army training
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. mine — for digging

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