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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. bound — obliged
  5. cold — an illness
  6. dip — to sink
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bound — tied together
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. root — the cause
  11. bound — certain
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. root — of a word
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. sharp — clever
  19. cold — not warm
  20. root — of a plant
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. bat — the animal

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