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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: bear · kid · cell · fine · bark · land · mouse · chair

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. land — a country
  4. fine — high quality
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. kid — to tease
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. land — ground
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. bear — the animal
  13. land — to come down
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. kid — child
  18. bear — the animal
  19. cell — a phone
  20. cell — in biology
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. bark — to shout
  23. chair — a leader
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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