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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. mark — a trace
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. plane — a tool
  6. can — to be able to
  7. spell — magic
  8. mark — a grade
  9. spell — a short time
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bark — to shout
  12. cell — a phone
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. spell — letters
  15. cell — in biology
  16. game — wild animals
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. can — a tin
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. kick — in football
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. can — a tin

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