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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. bark — to shout
  6. game — wild animals
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. game — a match
  10. lie — to recline
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. prune — to trim
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. wind — moving air
  18. prune — to trim
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. cell — in biology
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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