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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. bear — the animal
  4. cap — a hat
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. root — of a word
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bear — the animal
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. net — after costs
  12. press — a publisher
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. cap — a lid
  15. net — for catching
  16. root — of a plant
  17. cap — of ice
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. net — in sport
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. press — newspapers
  22. root — the cause
  23. cold — an illness
  24. press — to push

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