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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. chest — of your body
  3. staff — a stick
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. bark — to shout
  6. chest — a box
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. stock — goods
  12. staff — employees
  13. staff — employees
  14. cell — in biology
  15. wake — a trail
  16. stock — shares
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. cell — a phone
  19. mine — for digging
  20. chest — of your body
  21. spell — a short time
  22. spell — magic
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. spell — letters

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