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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.

Make a worksheet

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: bark · racket · can · kick · mine · land · saw · toast

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. toast — bread
  3. saw — the tool
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. bark — to shout
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. land — a country
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mine — for digging
  14. land — ground
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. can — a tin
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. saw — the tool
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. land — to come down
  22. kick — in football
  23. can — a tin
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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