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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. staff — employees
  5. staff — a stick
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. wound — an injury
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. wound — an injury
  12. fall — to drop
  13. staff — employees
  14. fall — the season
  15. bark — to shout
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. fall — to drop
  18. kick — in football
  19. pitch — completely
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. row — a line
  22. club — for golf
  23. club — for dancing
  24. row — to paddle

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