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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. chip — to eat
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. key — the most important part
  5. cap — a hat
  6. cap — of ice
  7. spring — a coil
  8. hand — help
  9. key — in music
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. spring — of water
  12. hand — in cards
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. bark — to shout
  16. spring — the season
  17. key — for a lock
  18. club — for dancing
  19. club — for golf
  20. chip — for betting
  21. cap — a lid
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. club — a group
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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