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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bass — the fish
  5. chip — to eat
  6. kid — to tease
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. hand — in cards
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. tube — a container
  12. toast — bread
  13. hand — help
  14. tube — the underground
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bass — low music
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. chip — for betting
  21. kid — child
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. bark — to shout
  24. bass — the instrument

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