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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: key · chest · deal · mate · row · pit · bark · band

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. row — a line
  3. bark — to shout
  4. band — a music group
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. mate — to breed
  8. mate — a friend
  9. deal — to handle
  10. key — for a lock
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. key — in music
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. row — to paddle
  15. band — a ring
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. key — the most important part
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. mate — a partner
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. pit — in a race
  23. pit — a hole
  24. chest — of your body

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