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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. sharp — clever
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. rush — hurry
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. pit — in a race
  14. branch — a division
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. pit — a hole
  19. wake — a trail
  20. land — ground
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. bark — to shout
  23. land — a country
  24. nail — on a finger

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