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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. stand — to bear
  3. cell — in biology
  4. land — a country
  5. present — the time now
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. land — ground
  10. track — a song
  11. land — to come down
  12. present — there
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. wind — moving air
  15. track — a path
  16. cell — a phone
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. wind — moving air
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. row — a line
  21. present — a gift
  22. track — to keep track
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. row — to paddle

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