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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. board — a committee
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. hand — help
  10. chest — of your body
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. bark — to shout
  13. pound — a weight
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. sharp — clever
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. chest — a box
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. board — to get on
  21. chest — of your body
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. pound — to hit hard

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