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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. hand — help
  3. deal — to handle
  4. pass — a permit
  5. sharp — clever
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. stand — to bear
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. kick — in football
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. bark — to shout
  15. hand — in cards
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. branch — a division
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. stand — for spectators

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