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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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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 · chip · stick · hand · cell · object · pound · key

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. hand — help
  4. object — to protest
  5. cell — in biology
  6. key — in music
  7. bark — to shout
  8. hand — in cards
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. key — for a lock
  13. object — an aim
  14. key — the most important part
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. chip — to eat
  20. chip — for betting
  21. pound — a weight
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. object — a thing

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