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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 116 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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. staff — a stick
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. march — the month
  6. wake — a trail
  7. cold — an illness
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. staff — employees
  11. rock — a stone
  12. march — the month
  13. march — music
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — not warm
  16. plane — a tool
  17. bark — to shout
  18. rock — music
  19. staff — employees
  20. track — to keep track
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. track — a path

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