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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. club — for golf
  4. cell — a phone
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. bark — to shout
  9. cell — in biology
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. sharp — clever
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. tube — the underground
  15. pound — a weight
  16. tube — a container
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. club — a group
  21. band — a ring
  22. dip — to sink
  23. band — a music group
  24. club — for dancing

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