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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 116 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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. ground — crushed
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. fork — in a road
  6. ground — the earth
  7. board — a committee
  8. board — to get on
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. bark — to shout
  11. ground — a position
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. deal — to handle
  14. spell — a short time
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. spell — magic
  17. mine — for digging
  18. spell — letters
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. wake — a trail
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. fork — a garden tool

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