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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. bound — obliged
  3. kid — child
  4. rock — music
  5. kid — to tease
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. rock — a stone
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. bound — tied together
  10. bound — certain
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. chip — for betting
  14. object — an aim
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. spell — magic
  17. spell — letters
  18. object — to protest
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. spell — a short time
  22. mine — for digging
  23. chip — to eat
  24. object — a thing

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