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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. bark — to shout
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. rock — music
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. cap — a hat
  8. net — for catching
  9. cap — a lid
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. rash — a series
  12. season — in sport
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. cap — of ice
  17. rash — hasty
  18. rock — a stone
  19. hand — help
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. season — of the year
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. net — after costs
  24. net — in sport

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