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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. tube — a container
  4. spell — letters
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. tube — the underground
  10. can — to be able to
  11. can — a tin
  12. spell — a short time
  13. can — a tin
  14. pound — a weight
  15. bark — to shout
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. spell — magic
  21. saw — the tool
  22. cold — an illness
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. cold — not warm

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