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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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Word bank
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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. cell — a phone
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. suit — to fit
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cell — in biology
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. suit — in cards
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. suit — clothes
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. press — newspapers
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. bark — to shout
  19. cold — not warm
  20. press — a publisher
  21. press — to push
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. vault — a safe
  24. pitch — completely

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