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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. cold — an illness
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. land — ground
  6. cold — not warm
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wound — an injury
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. dip — to sink
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. fork — in a road
  18. wound — an injury
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. land — a country
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. bark — to shout

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