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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. hand — in cards
  3. press — to push
  4. hand — help
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. net — after costs
  10. bark — to shout
  11. press — newspapers
  12. bear — the animal
  13. press — a publisher
  14. court — of law
  15. chip — to eat
  16. court — of a king
  17. land — to come down
  18. net — for catching
  19. net — in sport
  20. chip — for betting
  21. court — for sport
  22. land — ground
  23. bear — the animal
  24. land — a country

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