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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bat — the animal
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cold — not warm
  18. nail — for a hammer

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