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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 120 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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. mate — to breed
  3. pop — soda
  4. bass — the fish
  5. pop — music
  6. bark — to shout
  7. cue — for pool
  8. bass — low music
  9. spell — magic
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. mate — a partner
  12. rash — hasty
  13. spell — a short time
  14. spell — letters
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. pop — to visit
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. rash — a series
  21. mate — a friend
  22. cue — a hint
  23. cue — a signal
  24. bass — the instrument

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