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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. cold — an illness
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. cold — not warm
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. spell — a short time
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bark — to shout
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. pitch — completely
  14. spell — magic
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. cell — a phone
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. dip — to sink
  19. cell — in biology
  20. spell — letters
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. wake — a trail
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. dip — to dunk

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