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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bank — of a river
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. scale — size or range
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. bank — for money
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. scale — in music
  10. hand — help
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bank — for money
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. ball — a dance
  16. fork — in a road
  17. ball — a great time
  18. hand — in cards
  19. kick — in football
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. game — a match
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. hand — part of the body

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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