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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. mark — a trace
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. dip — to sink
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. bass — low music
  9. bass — the fish
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. drill — the tool
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bear — the animal
  14. drill — army training
  15. kick — in football
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — not warm
  20. bark — to shout
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. cold — an illness
  23. mark — a grade
  24. drill — a practice

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