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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. cell — a phone
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. can — to be able to
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bark — to shout
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. can — a tin
  14. dip — to sink
  15. can — a tin
  16. wound — an injury
  17. cell — in biology
  18. pass — to spend time

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