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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. firm — decided
  3. spring — of water
  4. bass — low music
  5. scale — size or range
  6. scale — in music
  7. bark — to shout
  8. rule — a law
  9. spring — a coil
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. firm — a company
  12. spring — the season
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. firm — steady
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. rule — government
  20. dip — to sink
  21. bass — the fish
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. rule — to rule out

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