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

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. lean — thin
  7. bark — to shout
  8. plane — a tool
  9. cold — an illness
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. court — of law
  12. cold — not warm
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. court — for sport
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. lean — to bend
  18. court — of a king

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