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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: ground · cold · bark · track · game · racket · lie · cabinet

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. game — wild animals
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. lie — to recline
  6. cold — an illness
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. ground — a position
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. track — a song
  14. track — a path
  15. ground — the earth
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. cold — not warm
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. track — to keep track
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. game — a match
  24. ground — crushed

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