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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. land — a country
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. track — a path
  6. rash — a series
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. bark — to shout
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cue — a signal
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. track — a song
  15. rash — hasty
  16. cue — for pool
  17. track — to keep track
  18. cold — an illness
  19. land — ground
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. cue — a hint
  23. land — to come down
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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