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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. pit — a hole
  3. last — finally
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. bound — obliged
  6. pitch — completely
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. chest — of your body
  9. pit — in a race
  10. bark — to shout
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. bound — certain
  14. band — a music group
  15. last — to go on
  16. wind — moving air
  17. chest — a box
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. band — a ring
  20. chest — of your body
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. bound — tied together
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. last — final

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