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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. mug — a cup
  4. mug — a face
  5. cold — not warm
  6. mark — a grade
  7. snap — to click
  8. pop — soda
  9. club — a group
  10. pop — music
  11. mate — a friend
  12. bark — to shout
  13. mug — to rob
  14. cold — an illness
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. mate — a partner
  17. pop — to visit
  18. club — for dancing
  19. mark — a trace
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. club — for golf
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. cold — the Cold War

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