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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 116 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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. kid — to tease
  5. bark — to shout
  6. kid — child
  7. snap — to click
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. fall — to drop
  10. staff — employees
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. staff — employees
  15. fall — the season
  16. staff — a stick
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. fall — to drop
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. content — happy
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. chair — a leader
  24. content — the amount

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