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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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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: kid · bark · net · staff · cabinet · club · face · squash

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. net — after costs
  3. kid — to tease
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. kid — child
  7. face — to confront
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. squash — the sport
  13. club — for golf
  14. face — part of the head
  15. net — for catching
  16. staff — employees
  17. face — to point toward
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. club — a group
  20. net — in sport
  21. staff — employees
  22. staff — a stick
  23. bark — to shout
  24. squash — to crush

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