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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 116 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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. fork — in a road
  3. pop — music
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. wound — an injury
  6. rash — hasty
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bark — to shout
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. pop — to visit
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. land — to come down
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. pop — soda
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. ground — a position
  19. land — a country
  20. ground — crushed
  21. rash — a series
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. ground — the earth
  24. wound — an injury

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