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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. hand — in cards
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. bark — to shout
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. track — to keep track
  8. track — a path
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. season — in sport
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. sharp — clever
  16. kick — in football
  17. track — a song
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. season — of the year
  24. stick — to attach or keep 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