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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. pop — soda
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bear — the animal
  7. mine — for digging
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. club — a group
  11. bark — to shout
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. lie — to recline
  14. club — for dancing
  15. club — for golf
  16. pop — to visit
  17. cell — in biology
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. cell — a phone
  22. bear — the animal
  23. pop — music
  24. wound — an injury

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