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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. last — final
  6. last — finally
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. kid — child
  9. drill — the tool
  10. date — the fruit
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. drill — a practice
  14. fall — the season
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. drill — army training
  17. fall — to drop
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. lean — thin
  20. lean — to bend
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. last — to go on
  23. kid — to tease
  24. bark — to shout

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