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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. pop — to visit
  5. bat — the animal
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. staff — employees
  8. pop — soda
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. chip — to eat
  11. field — for sport
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. pop — music
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. field — farmland
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. staff — a stick
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. staff — employees
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. field — a subject
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bark — to shout

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