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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. track — a path
  9. mine — for digging
  10. pass — a permit
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. charge — a price
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. track — a song
  15. charge — electricity
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. bark — to shout
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — not warm
  23. charge — in control
  24. track — to keep track

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