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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 124 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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. mate — a partner
  3. land — a country
  4. mate — to breed
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. wake — a trail
  8. key — the most important part
  9. key — for a lock
  10. mate — a friend
  11. land — to come down
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. spell — magic
  15. spell — letters
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. key — in music
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. spell — a short time
  21. track — a path
  22. land — ground
  23. track — a song
  24. track — to keep track

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