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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. rock — music
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. last — final
  7. cold — an illness
  8. tube — the underground
  9. kick — in football
  10. object — to protest
  11. cold — not warm
  12. object — a thing
  13. object — an aim
  14. tube — a container
  15. last — to go on
  16. last — finally
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. rock — a stone
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. kick — with a leg

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