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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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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. club — for golf
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. club — for dancing
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. cold — not warm
  13. content — happy
  14. cold — an illness
  15. club — a group
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. bark — to shout
  23. content — the amount
  24. wind — moving air

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