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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. staff — employees
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. staff — employees
  7. mark — a trace
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. staff — a stick
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — the season
  14. bark — to shout
  15. cold — not warm
  16. dip — to sink
  17. mark — a grade
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. fall — to drop
  20. cold — an illness
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. wake — a trail

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