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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's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. board — to get on
  3. lean — to bend
  4. bark — to shout
  5. cell — in biology
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. board — a committee
  9. key — in music
  10. cell — a phone
  11. bass — the fish
  12. spell — letters
  13. bass — low music
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. spell — magic
  21. lean — thin
  22. spell — a short time
  23. key — the most important part
  24. key — for a lock

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