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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 124 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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. game — wild animals
  4. hand — in cards
  5. hand — help
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. cap — of ice
  8. rash — a series
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. key — in music
  11. cap — a hat
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. kid — to tease
  15. key — for a lock
  16. cap — a lid
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. bark — to shout
  21. game — a match
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. key — the most important part
  24. kid — child

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