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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. present — a gift
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. cold — an illness
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. cold — not warm
  8. present — there
  9. bound — tied together
  10. chair — a leader
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. firm — steady
  13. rash — hasty
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. rash — a series
  16. bound — obliged
  17. bound — certain
  18. firm — decided
  19. present — the time now
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. firm — a company
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. bark — of a tree

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