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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. spell — letters
  5. chest — of your body
  6. lean — thin
  7. band — a music group
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. game — a match
  10. mate — a friend
  11. mate — to breed
  12. game — wild animals
  13. mate — a partner
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. chest — a box
  16. spell — magic
  17. spell — a short time
  18. band — a ring
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. lean — to bend
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. lean — to rest against

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