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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. bark — to shout
  3. rest — a break
  4. mate — a partner
  5. mate — to breed
  6. spell — a short time
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. scale — in music
  9. kid — child
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. club — a group
  13. current — of water
  14. scale — size or range
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. current — happening now
  17. spell — magic
  18. spell — letters
  19. club — for golf
  20. club — for dancing
  21. current — electric
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rest — what's left
  24. mate — a friend

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