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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: chest · bowl · bear · bark · racket · deal · date · land

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. chest — of your body
  3. land — a country
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. bark — to shout
  8. date — the fruit
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. chest — a box
  16. bear — the animal
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. chest — of your body
  19. deal — to handle
  20. land — to come down
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. land — ground
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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