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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. race — the arms race
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. cell — a phone
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bark — to shout
  12. stock — goods
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. press — a publisher
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. press — to push
  17. cell — in biology
  18. race — humankind
  19. wake — a trail
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. stock — shares
  22. press — newspapers
  23. race — a contest
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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