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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 words: he'll be late again.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. bark — to shout
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. present — the time now
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. game — wild animals
  8. mate — a partner
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. mate — to breed
  12. band — a music group
  13. foot — a measure
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. mark — a grade
  16. cold — an illness
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. band — a ring
  19. mate — a friend
  20. present — a gift
  21. present — there
  22. game — a match
  23. cold — not warm
  24. mark — a trace

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