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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: wake · kid · date · bowl · present · coach · scale · bark

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. kid — to tease
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. present — a gift
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. scale — size or range
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. present — there
  16. bark — to shout
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. kid — child
  19. date — the fruit
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. present — the time now
  23. scale — in music
  24. wake — a trail

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