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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. last — finally
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. cue — a hint
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. degree — from a university
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. last — to go on
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. cue — a signal
  11. present — there
  12. cold — not warm
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. cue — for pool
  15. stand — to bear
  16. degree — temperature
  17. present — the time now
  18. bark — to shout
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. cold — an illness
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. degree — an amount
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. last — final

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