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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. hand — help
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. game — wild animals
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. mate — a friend
  8. bore — to drill
  9. hand — in cards
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. press — to push
  13. press — newspapers
  14. mine — for digging
  15. game — a match
  16. mate — to breed
  17. mate — a partner
  18. bore — to tire
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. press — a publisher
  23. bass — the fish
  24. bass — low music

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