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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. bark — to shout
  4. scale — in music
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. cold — not warm
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. bat — the animal
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. scale — size or range

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