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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bark — to shout
  3. saw — the tool
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. kick — in football
  7. cell — in biology
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. rest — what's left
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. kid — child
  13. bear — the animal
  14. cell — a phone
  15. bear — the animal
  16. saw — the tool
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. rest — a break
  19. track — to keep track
  20. track — a path
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kid — to tease
  23. track — a song
  24. rest — what's left

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