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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. cap — of ice
  3. chair — a leader
  4. hand — in cards
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. spring — a coil
  7. present — the time now
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. cap — a lid
  10. hand — help
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. wake — a trail
  18. spring — the season
  19. cap — a hat
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. bark — to shout
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. present — a gift
  24. spring — of water

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