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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. cap — a hat
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cap — a lid
  6. mark — a grade
  7. bark — to shout
  8. plane — a tool
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. spell — a short time
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. lie — to recline
  13. mark — a trace
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. wound — an injury
  18. spell — magic
  19. cap — of ice
  20. spell — letters
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. wound — an injury
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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