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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 need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. squash — the sport
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. game — wild animals
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. drill — army training
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. bark — to shout
  13. scale — size or range
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. board — a committee
  16. game — a match
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. board — to get on
  20. drill — a practice
  21. squash — to crush
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. scale — in music

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