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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bass — the fish
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. land — ground
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. land — to come down
  8. chip — to eat
  9. row — to paddle
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. spell — magic
  12. spring — of water
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. spell — letters
  15. land — a country
  16. spring — a coil
  17. row — a line
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. spell — a short time
  20. chip — for betting
  21. bass — low music
  22. spring — the season
  23. bark — to shout
  24. arm — a part of something

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