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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. chair — a leader
  3. drill — army training
  4. tube — a container
  5. bore — to tire
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. drill — a practice
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. drill — the tool
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. sharp — clever
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. tube — the underground
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. bark — to shout
  18. wound — an injury
  19. dip — to sink
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. bore — to drill

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