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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. mate — a partner
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. wound — an injury
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. bark — to shout
  7. cold — not warm
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. wound — an injury
  11. cue — for pool
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. cold — an illness
  15. content — the amount
  16. cue — a hint
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. content — happy
  19. mate — a friend
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. mate — to breed
  22. deal — to handle
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. cue — a signal

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