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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 124 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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. track — to keep track
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. game — wild animals
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. land — to come down
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. track — a song
  10. bound — certain
  11. bound — obliged
  12. land — a country
  13. track — a path
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. bark — to shout
  16. game — a match
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. land — ground
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. bound — tied together
  22. dip — to sink
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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