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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. chip — for betting
  3. bark — to shout
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. mine — for digging
  8. field — for sport
  9. chip — to eat
  10. can — to be able to
  11. track — to keep track
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. track — a song
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. can — a tin
  16. hand — in cards
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. field — a subject
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. can — a tin
  22. track — a path
  23. hand — help
  24. field — farmland

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