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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. plane — a tool
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. chip — for betting
  8. root — the cause
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bark — to shout
  11. root — of a plant
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. sharp — clever
  19. chip — to eat
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. root — of a word
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — an illness

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