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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bark — to shout
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. can — a tin
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. can — a tin
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. wound — an injury
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. chair — a leader
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. can — to be able to

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