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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 120 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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. mate — a friend
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. ground — the earth
  7. press — to push
  8. press — a publisher
  9. ground — a position
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. mate — to breed
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. press — newspapers
  16. ball — a dance
  17. ball — a great time
  18. mate — a partner
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. cold — an illness
  23. ground — crushed
  24. cold — not warm

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