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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. swing — music
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. firm — steady
  5. pass — a permit
  6. hand — in cards
  7. swing — in golf
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. swing — to play on
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. firm — a company
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — an illness
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. hand — help
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. sharp — clever
  21. firm — decided
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. bark — to shout
  24. straw — a straw man

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