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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. mark — a trace
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. bark — to shout
  7. mine — for digging
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. chest — of your body
  11. spring — the season
  12. cap — a hat
  13. spring — a coil
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. cap — of ice
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. spring — of water
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. mark — a grade
  21. chest — a box
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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