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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bore — to tire
  7. dip — to sink
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. cold — not warm
  13. pound — a weight
  14. cold — an illness
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. bore — to drill
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. deal — to handle
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. bark — to shout
  24. wake — a trail

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