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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. kid — to tease
  3. mug — a face
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. bat — the animal
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. chip — to eat
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. stem — to come from
  16. kid — child
  17. mug — a cup
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mug — to rob
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. bark — to shout
  23. chip — for betting
  24. bat — in an idiom

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