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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. game — wild animals
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. bear — the animal
  6. spell — a short time
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. bear — the animal
  11. court — of a king
  12. bark — to shout
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. game — a match
  15. spell — magic
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. spell — letters
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. pitch — completely
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. court — for sport
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. court — of law

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