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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. present — there
  3. wind — moving air
  4. season — of the year
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. season — in sport
  7. track — a song
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. present — the time now
  10. spring — the season
  11. track — a path
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. present — a gift
  16. lean — to bend
  17. track — to keep track
  18. lean — thin
  19. kick — in football
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. spring — of water
  22. spring — a coil
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bark — to shout

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