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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. tube — the underground
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. fall — to drop
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. chip — for betting
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. spell — magic
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. cold — an illness
  13. spell — a short time
  14. fork — in a road
  15. chip — to eat
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — not warm
  20. tube — a container
  21. spell — letters
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fall — the season

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