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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. bark — to shout
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. wound — an injury
  5. pop — music
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. bass — low music
  8. bass — the fish
  9. cold — an illness
  10. pop — to visit
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. game — a match
  17. game — wild animals
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. season — in sport
  20. cold — not warm
  21. pop — soda
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. wound — an injury
  24. season — of the year

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