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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. last — final
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bear — the animal
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. branch — a division
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. wound — an injury
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. pitch — completely
  16. wound — an injury
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bark — to shout
  21. last — to go on
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. last — finally

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