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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  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. cap — a lid
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. staff — a stick
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. fall — to drop
  6. cue — for pool
  7. staff — employees
  8. cold — not warm
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. fall — to drop
  11. cap — of ice
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bat — the animal
  15. staff — employees
  16. cue — a hint
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. cap — a hat
  19. fall — the season
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. cue — a signal
  23. bat — in an idiom
  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