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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. bark — to shout
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. wake — a trail
  9. current — happening now
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. game — a match
  14. current — electric
  15. cold — not warm
  16. current — of water
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. game — wild animals
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. cold — an illness

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