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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 116 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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. bark — to shout
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. staff — employees
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. staff — a stick
  8. net — for catching
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — not warm
  11. staff — employees
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. land — a country
  17. land — to come down
  18. land — ground
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. net — after costs
  21. net — in sport
  22. tube — a container
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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