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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. firm — a company
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. spell — a short time
  7. mate — to breed
  8. spell — magic
  9. mate — a partner
  10. cold — an illness
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. firm — steady
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bark — to shout
  16. firm — decided
  17. spell — letters
  18. cold — not warm

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