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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. present — a gift
  3. ground — crushed
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. ground — the earth
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. present — the time now
  8. cold — an illness
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. bark — to shout
  13. present — there
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. ground — a position
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. saw — the tool
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. saw — the tool
  24. chair — a leader

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