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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. cell — a phone
  3. club — for golf
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — not warm
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. club — for dancing
  11. file — a document
  12. rush — hurry
  13. bark — to shout
  14. perch — the fish
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. file — a line of people
  18. file — a tool
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. cell — in biology
  22. toast — bread
  23. club — a group
  24. rush — a thrill

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