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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. can — to be able to
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. ground — a position
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. key — in music
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. ground — crushed
  11. sharp — clever
  12. hand — help
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bark — to shout
  15. hand — in cards
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. key — for a lock
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. can — a tin
  20. key — the most important part
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. ground — the earth
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. can — a tin

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