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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. tube — the underground
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. spring — the season
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. cell — a phone
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. spring — of water
  12. tube — a container
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. dip — to sink
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. cell — in biology
  21. spring — a coil
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. bark — of a tree

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