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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. scale — size or range
  4. rush — hurry
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. pound — a weight
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. bark — to shout
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. scale — in music
  20. fork — in a road
  21. hand — help
  22. bat — the animal
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. scale — for weighing

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