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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 120 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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. staff — a stick
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. spring — the season
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. spring — a coil
  10. content — happy
  11. drill — army training
  12. fork — in a road
  13. drill — the tool
  14. bark — to shout
  15. staff — employees
  16. spring — of water
  17. content — the amount
  18. chip — for betting
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. staff — employees
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. drill — a practice
  23. chip — to eat
  24. mine — for digging

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