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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: mouse · drill · bay · chair · date · bark · stick · hand

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. hand — help
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. date — the fruit
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. drill — the tool
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. drill — a practice
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. drill — army training
  20. hand — in cards
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. chair — a leader

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