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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. face — part of the head
  5. mug — a face
  6. bark — to shout
  7. face — to confront
  8. mug — to rob
  9. cold — an illness
  10. wake — a trail
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. rash — hasty
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. tube — the underground
  16. sharp — clever
  17. rash — a series
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. cold — not warm
  20. face — to point toward
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. mug — a cup
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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