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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: date · mouse · rest · bark · hand · leaves · fall · cell

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bark — to shout
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. rest — what's left
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. date — the fruit
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cell — in biology
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. hand — in cards
  18. rest — what's left
  19. fall — the season
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. rest — a break
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fall — to drop

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