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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. wake — a trail
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. rush — hurry
  6. bark — to shout
  7. chest — a box
  8. saw — the tool
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. pop — soda
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cell — a phone
  13. pop — music
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. chest — of your body
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. cell — in biology
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. chest — of your body

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