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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. cell — a phone
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. fall — to drop
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. fall — to drop
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. can — to be able to
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. can — a tin
  11. wake — a trail
  12. can — a tin
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. fall — the season
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cold — not warm
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. cold — an illness
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. ground — the earth
  23. ground — crushed
  24. ground — a position

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