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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. wound — an injury
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. wound — an injury
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. pop — soda
  8. fine — all right
  9. cold — not warm
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. bark — to shout
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. pop — to visit
  15. cold — an illness
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. vault — a safe
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. fork — in a road
  22. pop — music
  23. fine — high quality
  24. fine — a penalty

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