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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. mate — to breed
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. spell — a short time
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. ground — the earth
  9. hand — help
  10. scale — in music
  11. spell — magic
  12. scale — size or range
  13. mate — a partner
  14. ground — a position
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. pit — in a race
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. bark — to shout
  19. spell — letters
  20. ground — crushed
  21. pit — a hole
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. mate — a friend
  24. hand — in cards

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