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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  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. bear — the animal
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. staff — employees
  4. staff — employees
  5. bear — the animal
  6. cold — not warm
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. staff — a stick
  9. rash — a series
  10. season — of the year
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. season — in sport
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. bulb — for light
  20. rash — hasty
  21. bulb — for light
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. bulb — of a plant
  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