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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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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: mate · mouse · present · wound · snap · bark · chair · net

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. mate — a partner
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. mate — a friend
  5. chair — a leader
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. net — after costs
  13. net — for catching
  14. present — a gift
  15. wound — an injury
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. wound — an injury
  18. mate — to breed
  19. snap — to click
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. present — the time now
  22. net — in sport
  23. present — there
  24. chair — a professorship

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