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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. swing — music
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. cold — not warm
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. wound — an injury
  10. content — happy
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. swing — to play on
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. mug — a cup
  15. swing — in golf
  16. content — the amount
  17. bark — to shout
  18. wake — a trail
  19. wound — an injury
  20. mug — to rob
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. mug — a face
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. arm — a part of something

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