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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 116 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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. current — electric
  4. cap — a lid
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bark — to shout
  7. scale — size or range
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. current — happening now
  10. cap — a hat
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. cap — of ice
  16. chip — for betting
  17. dip — to sink
  18. scale — in music
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. current — of water
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. wind — moving air
  24. chip — to eat

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