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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. file — a line of people
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. fine — high quality
  6. spring — a coil
  7. pound — a weight
  8. file — a tool
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bark — to shout
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. fine — all right
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. file — a document
  17. spring — of water
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. cold — an illness
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. cold — not warm
  24. spring — the season

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