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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. hand — in cards
  3. cell — in biology
  4. bark — to shout
  5. cell — a phone
  6. bass — low music
  7. pit — a hole
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. season — in sport
  10. bore — to drill
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. bass — the fish
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. bore — to tire
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. pit — in a race
  20. saw — the tool
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. saw — the tool
  24. season — of the year

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