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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. track — to keep track
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. hand — in cards
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. foot — a measure
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. track — a path
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. pass — a permit
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. chair — a leader
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. cold — an illness
  21. track — a song
  22. bark — to shout
  23. hand — help
  24. pass — to spend time

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