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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. wake — a trail
  7. cold — not warm
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. toast — bread
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. wind — moving air
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. cold — an illness

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