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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 120 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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. staff — employees
  3. bass — low music
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. staff — employees
  6. craft — a skill
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. craft — boats
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. present — the time now
  11. cold — an illness
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. present — there
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. bark — to shout
  17. wax — to grow
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. staff — a stick
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bass — the fish
  23. cold — not warm
  24. craft — a handicraft

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