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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. cold — an illness
  4. deal — to handle
  5. row — a line
  6. bark — to shout
  7. object — a thing
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. cap — a hat
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. object — an aim
  17. cold — not warm
  18. row — to paddle
  19. object — to protest
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. lie — to recline
  22. cap — of ice
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. cap — a lid

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