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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: hand · last · bowl · track · pit · bark · cap · saw

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. pit — a hole
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. last — final
  8. saw — the tool
  9. track — a path
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. hand — in cards
  12. cap — a lid
  13. cap — of ice
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. cap — a hat
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. track — to keep track
  18. saw — the tool
  19. last — finally
  20. last — to go on
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. pit — in a race
  23. track — a song
  24. bark — to shout

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