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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. content — the amount
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. cue — a signal
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. rash — hasty
  9. cue — for pool
  10. cue — a hint
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. fall — to drop
  14. content — happy
  15. cold — not warm
  16. fall — the season
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. rash — a series
  21. foot — a measure
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. fall — to drop

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