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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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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: mine · bark · mouse · kid · chair · bowl · mark · last

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. kid — child
  3. last — final
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. kid — to tease
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. mine — for digging
  9. last — finally
  10. mark — a trace
  11. mark — a grade
  12. chair — a leader
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. last — to go on
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. bowl — a football final

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