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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. last — finally
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. rock — music
  10. hand — in cards
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. rock — a stone
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. last — final
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. kick — in football
  21. ground — a position
  22. last — to go on
  23. ground — the earth
  24. ground — crushed

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