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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 120 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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. squash — to crush
  7. row — a line
  8. scale — size or range
  9. craft — a skill
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. scale — in music
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. chest — of your body
  15. hand — help
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. chest — a box
  18. craft — boats
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. row — to paddle
  21. squash — the sport
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. foot — a measure
  24. bark — to shout

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