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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. swing — to play on
  3. hand — in cards
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. swing — music
  9. pound — a weight
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. pop — soda
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. bark — to shout
  14. hand — help
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. stem — to come from
  18. mine — for digging
  19. vault — a safe
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. swing — in golf
  22. pop — music
  23. pop — to visit
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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