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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. track — to keep track
  4. bark — to shout
  5. kid — child
  6. scale — in music
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. drill — army training
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. track — a path
  11. scale — size or range
  12. track — a song
  13. wind — moving air
  14. staff — employees
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. mark — a grade
  20. drill — the tool
  21. kid — to tease
  22. drill — a practice
  23. mark — a trace
  24. staff — a stick

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