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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. ground — the earth
  3. net — after costs
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. land — ground
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. land — a country
  8. net — in sport
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. net — for catching
  11. land — to come down
  12. game — wild animals
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. perch — the fish
  15. fork — in a road
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. ground — a position
  18. ground — crushed
  19. game — a match
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. bark — of a tree

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