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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. land — ground
  3. bark — to shout
  4. court — of law
  5. chip — to eat
  6. tube — the underground
  7. firm — decided
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. chip — for betting
  10. land — a country
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. dip — to sink
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. court — for sport
  15. tube — a container
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. firm — steady
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. court — of a king
  23. land — to come down
  24. firm — a company

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