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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. chip — to eat
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. staff — employees
  7. net — in sport
  8. last — final
  9. staff — employees
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. kid — to tease
  12. chip — for betting
  13. last — to go on
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. chair — a leader
  16. staff — a stick
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. bark — to shout
  19. prune — to trim
  20. net — after costs
  21. prune — to trim
  22. kid — child
  23. last — finally
  24. net — for catching

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