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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. press — to push
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. game — wild animals
  9. cue — a hint
  10. cold — not warm
  11. prune — to trim
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. bark — to shout
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. cue — for pool
  16. cold — an illness
  17. game — a match
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. press — a publisher
  20. press — newspapers
  21. cue — a signal
  22. prune — to trim
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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