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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. kid — to tease
  4. last — finally
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. land — ground
  8. last — final
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. staff — employees
  11. staff — employees
  12. staff — a stick
  13. court — for sport
  14. land — a country
  15. rash — a series
  16. land — to come down
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. season — in sport
  20. season — of the year
  21. last — to go on
  22. kid — child
  23. court — of a king
  24. court — of law

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