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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: bark · hide · key · stand · swing · row · date · cell

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. swing — to play on
  3. cell — in biology
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. cell — a phone
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. key — for a lock
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. key — in music
  17. stand — to bear
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. row — a line
  20. date — the fruit
  21. swing — in golf
  22. row — to paddle
  23. key — the most important part
  24. swing — music

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