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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. rock — a stone
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. land — ground
  6. net — for catching
  7. hand — help
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. game — a match
  11. net — in sport
  12. game — wild animals
  13. rock — music
  14. chair — a leader
  15. mine — for digging
  16. land — a country
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. bark — to shout
  22. hand — in cards
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. net — after costs

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