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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. game — wild animals
  3. sharp — clever
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. swing — in golf
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. lean — to bend
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. swing — music
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. rest — what's left
  13. game — a match
  14. kick — in football
  15. lean — thin
  16. swing — to play on
  17. season — of the year
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. bark — to shout
  20. season — in sport
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rest — a break
  24. game — a kind of play

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